I'
i/ U
^P
THE
LOYALISTS OF AMERICA
AND
THEIE TIMES:
From 1620 to 181(>.
Q1
BY EGERTON RYERSON, D.D., LL.D.,
Chief Superintendent of Education for Upper Canada
from 18UU to 1876.
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IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
TORONTO:
WILLIAM BRIGGS, 80 KING STREET EAST;
JAMES CAMPBELL & SON, AND
"WILLING & WILLIAMSON.
MONTREAL: DAWSON BROTHERS.
1880.
Enteked, according to the Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the
year One thousand eight hundred and eighty, by the Rev. Egerton
Kyerson, D.D., LL.D., in the Office of the Minister of Agiiculture.
^^
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Alliance between Congress and France not productive of the effect
anticipated ; efforts of the british government for reconcilia-
TION WITH THE Colonies 1-16
PAGE
Alliance deferred twelve months by France after it was applied for by Con-
gress, until the King of France was assured that no reconciliation would
take place between England and the Colonies 1
Lord Admiral Howe and his brother, General Howe, Commissioners to confer
with Congress with a view to reconciliation ; their power limited ; Con-
gress refuses all conference with them, but the vast majority of the Colo-
nists in favour of reconciliation 2
Reasons of the failure of the two Commissioners 4
New penal laws against the Loyalists 5
Three Acts of Parliament passed to remove all grounds of complaint on the
part of the Colonists, and the appointment of five Commissioners ; Lord
North's conciliatory speech ; excitement and opposition in the Commons,
but the bills were passed and received the royal assent 6
Lord North's proposed resignation, and preparations for it 8
Opinions of Lords Macaulay and Mahon as to the success of a commission ;
proposed terms of reconciliation if appointed and proposed by the Earl of
Chatham 8
The large powers and most liberal propositions of the five Royal Commissioners
for reconciliation between the Colonies and the Mother Country 11
The refusal of all negotiation on the part of Congress ; bound by treaty to the
King of France to make no peace with England without the consent of
the French Court 12
The three Acts of Parliament, and proposals of the five Commissioners of all
that the Colonists had desired before the Declaration of Independence ;
but Congress had transferred allegiance from England to France, without
even consulting their constituents 12
Appeal of the representative of France to the Canadians to detach Canada
from England (in a note) , . , 12
iv CONTENTS.
PAGE
Sycophancy of the leaders of Congress to France against England 13
The feeling of the people in both England and America diiferent from that of
the leaders of Crongress 14
The war more acrimonious after the alliance between Congress and the King
of France and the failure of the British Commissioners to promote recon-
ciliation between Great Britain and the Colonies 16
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Complete Failure of the French Fleet and Army, under Count
D'ESTAING, TO assist THE CONGRESS 17-32
Count D'Estaing arrives in America with a powerful fleet and several thousand
soldiers 17
Anchors off Sandy Hook for eleven days ; goes to Long Island by Washington's
advice, and sails up Newport River, whither he is pursued by the Lord
Admiral Howe with a less powerful fleet ; the ships, with 4,000 French
soldiers and 10,000 Americans, to land and attack the British on Long
Island, who were only 5, 000 strong 17
The two fleets separated by a storm ; only fighting between individual ships. . 18
Count D'Estaing, against the remonstrances and protests of American officers,
determines to sail for Boston Harbour for the repair of his ships 18
Bitter feeling and riot between the American sailors and citizens and French
seamen and soldiers in the streets of Boston 19
Raids in New England by British expeditions (in a note) 19
Differences between Count D'Estaing and the American officers as to the mode
of attacking the British on Long Island 19
Early in November Count D'Estaing with his fleet quitted the port of Boston
and sailed for the "West Indies, thus disappointing the hopes of the
Americans from the French alliance 20
Count D'Estaing, though strengthened by the fleet of Count De Grasse, could
not be induced to come to close fight with Admiral Byron 21
The French take St. Vincent 21
Count D'Estaing complained of by the Americans to the French Court, which
orders him to return to the American coasts and assist the Colonists 22
D'Estaing arrives suddenly on the American coasts with twenty-two sail-of-the-
line and eleven frigates and six thousand soldiers ; his magnificent plans
and expectations 22
D'Estaing arranges with General Lincoln to attack Savannah and rescue the
province of Georgia, and afterwards other Southern provinces, from the
British 23
Account of the Siege of Savannah, and the defeat of the French and their
American allies ; result of the contest 24
Mutual recriminations and jealousies between the French and American
officers ; Count D'Estaing sails with his fleet for France 25
Why this minute account of Count D'Estaing's abortive expeditions to
America ; the barren results of the first two years' alliance between Con-
gress and the King of France, by Dr. Ramsay 27
Spain joins France against England in 1779 28
CONTENTS. V
PAGE
Low state of the American army and finances; discouragement and despon-
dency of the Americans in 1780 28
The degeneracy of Congress in 1778, as stated by General Washington 29
Depreciation of public credit ; sale of the confiscated j)roperty of " Tories "... 30
CHAPTER XXIX.
1780 — A YEAR OF WEAKNESS AND DISASTER TO THE AMERICAN CAUSE, AND
OF SUCCESS TO THE BRITISH 32-41
Depression of American finances 32
Weakness of Washington's army 32
La Fayette returns from France with a loan of money and reinforcements of
naval and land forces 33
The British receive naval reinforcement of war ships, and become superior to
the French 33
Failure of the French reinforcements 33
Sir Henry Clinton goes South ; besieges and takes Charleston 34
Conditions of the surrender and treatment of the inhabitants, as stated by Dr.
Eamsay and misrepresented by Mr. Bancroft 35
Sir Henry Clinton's bad administration and bad proclamation in South Caro-
lina ; his exaggerated statements of his success ; re-embarks at Charleston
for New York 36
Expeditions to secure the universal submission of the people ; but they
weakened the cause of the British in the hearts of the people 36
The military power of Congress reduced and crushed in the Southern States . . 37
Lord Cornwallis's antecedents, and those of Lord Rawdon (afterwards Marquis
of Hastings); but their severe policy unjustifiable and injurious to the
British cause 38
Military proceedings in the North also unfavourable to the Congress ; its con-
fessed weakness and gloomy prospects 40
Appeal of Congress to France for men and money as their only hope 40
Washington's despondency without French aid (in a note) 41
Mr. Hildreth, the historian, on the gloomy state of American affairs at the
close of the year 1780, though the English victories and rule did not at-
tract the hearts of the people to the British cause 41
CHAPTER XXX.
The French and Congress Allies recover Virginia ; surrender of
Lord Cornwallis ; results 42-52
General Washington and the French Commander plan an expedition to the
South 42
' Sir Henry Clinton deceived as to their design 43
Count De Grasse sails for the Chesapeake with a fleet of 28 ships and 7,000
French troops 43
Remarkable march of the allied army, five hundred miles from New York to
Virginia, without committing any depredations whatever upon the inha-
bitants, even in the season of fruits 43
VI CONTENTS.
PAGE
Plan of tlie siege of York Town 44
Earl Comwallis's measures of defence 44
Position and strength of the allied forces, and their process of operations 45
Lord Cornwallis's courageous and protracted defence ; is disappointed of
promised reinforcements from New York 45
Lord Cornwall is capitulates to superior forces 45
Conditions of capitulation 46
Circumstances ot the Loyalists 46
Groundless boastings of American orators and writers over the surrender of
Lord Cornwallis, commanding but a small part of the British forces 47
The unrivalled skill and courage of Washington undoubted, as well as the
bravery and endurance of his soldiers ; but the success of the siege of York
Town chiefly owing to the French, but for whose ships, artillery and land
forces. Lord Cornwallis Avould have been the conqueror, rather than con-
quered, in this famous siege and battle 47
The resources of England ; the peace party opposed to the continuance of the
American War irrespective of the Battle of York Town 48
The war party and corrupt administration at length defeated in the House of
Commons, after repeated and protracted debates and various intrigues . . 50
Change of Government, and end of Lord North's twelve years' administration 51
Seven years' war and bloodshed, and an unnatural alliance would have been
prevented, liberty secured, and the united life of the Anglo-Saxon race
saved, had Congress, in 1776, adhered to its previous professions (in a
note) 52
CHAPTER XXXI.
Change of administration in England ; change of policy for both
England and the Colonies ; peace negotiations at Paris ; cause
OF the United Empire Loyalists ; change of ministry ; the King
compelled to yield 53-65
Names of the new Ministers ; death of the Marquis of Rockingham, the
Premier, succeeded by the Earl of Shelburne, in consequence of which
several Ministers resign, and are succeeded by others, among whom was
Pitt, as Chancellor of the Exchequer (in a note) ko
Correspondence between Dr. Franklin, at Paris, and the Earl of Shelburne
which led to negotiations for peace k^
Parliament does not pass an Act to authorize peace with America until three
months after the accession of the new Ministry c^
Dr. Franklin proposes to include Caimda in the United States ka
English and American Commissioners meet at Paris and hold protracted nego-
tiations, with many delays, in regard to terms of peace Kg
Two most difficult questions of the treaty— The fishing grounds of Newfound-
land and the Loyalists
It was agreed that the Americans should have the right to take fish on the
Banks of Newfoundland, but not to dry or cure them on any of the King's
settled dominions _
Preamble and articles of the treaty (in a note) ' f.„
The most important question of the Loyalists .... ' f.'t
CONTENTS. Vll
PAGE
They constituted the majority of the population of the Colonies at the begin-
ning of the contest 57
It was at length agreed that the Congress should recommend to the several
States to compensate the Loyalists ; but Dr. Franklin anticipated no suc-
cess from it, as of course he did not desire it 58
Dr. Franklin's counter-scheme to defeat the proposition of the English Com-
missioners, who gave way 58
Dr. Ramsay on the Loyalists being " sacrificed " to their sufferings 59
Mr. Hildreth on the same subject 61
What was demanded for the Loj^alists had been sanctioned by all modern
civilized nations in like circumstances 61
How honourable to the United States to have imitated such examples 62
The fallacy of the plea or pretext that Congress had no power to grant an
amnesty and compensation to the Loyalists 62
Severe censure of the royal historian, Dr. Andrews, upon the English Com-
missioners for having agreed to sacrifice the Loyalists (in a note) 62
" All jjarties in the Commons unanimously demand amnesty and indemnity
for the Loyalists." (Bancroft, in a note) 62
Dr. Franklin and his colleagues outwitted the English Commissioners not only
in regard to the Loyalists but also in regard to immense territories 6S
Deplorable condition of the Loyalists during the war ; utter abandonment by
the English Commissioners 64
CHAPTER XXXII.
Obigin of Republicanism and hatbed of Monakchy in America ; Thos,
Paine, sketch of his life, character, and writings, and their
EFFECTS 66-71
CHAPTER XXXiri.
The hiring of Foreign soldiers and employment of Indians in the
Civil War 72-84
The policy of the British Ministry in employing foreign soldiers and Indians
in the war with the Colonies deprecated by all classes in England and
America and throughout Europe 72^
Violent opposition in Parliament to the hiring of foreign troops ; exasperation
in the Colonies (in a note) 73
Unreliable and bad character of the Hessian mercenaries 74
Remarks upon the bad policy of employing them, and their bad conduct, by
the royal historian (in a note) 74
The employment of Indians still more condemned and denounced than the
hiring of foreign troops 74
Employment of Indians by both the French and English during the war of
1755-63, between France and England 75
At the close of the war the French authorities recommended the Indians to
cultivate the friendship of England 75
Both Congress and the English sought the alliance and co-operation of the
Indians ; misstatements of the Declaration of Independence on this
b
Vlil CONTENTS.
PAGE
subject (in a note) ; the advantages of the latter over the former in con-
ciliating the Indians ' ^
The employment of the Indians in every respect disadvantageous to England . . 76
English Generals in America individually opposed to the employment of the
Indians in the military campaigns '6
Failure, if not defeat, of General Burgoyne's army by the bad conduct, and
desertion, of his Indian allies 76
But Washington and Congress, as well as the English Government, sanc-
tioned the employment of the Indians in the war, and the first idea of
thus employing them originated with the first promoters of revolution in
Massachusetts 77
Omissions of American writers to state that the aggressions and retaliations
of the Congress soldiers and their coadjutors far exceeded in severity and
destruction the aggressions and retaliations of the Indians on the white
inhabitants 77
Many letters and biographies of actors in the Revolution show that very much
of what was written or reported during the Revolution against the Eng-
lish Loyalists and Indians was fictitious or exaggerated 78
Proceedings of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts (before the affairs
of Concord and Lexington) to enlist and employ the Indians against the
British 79
General Washington, under date of July 27th, 1776, recommends the employ-
ment of Indians in the revolutionary cause 80
The Americans have no ground of boasting over the English in regard to the
employment of Indians and their acts during the war 81
Efforts of General Burgoyne to restrain the Indians, who were an incumbrance
to his army, and whose conduct alienated great numbers of Loyalists from
the British cause 82
The conduct and dread of the Indians roused great numbers to become recruits
in General Gates' army, and thus rendered it far more numerous than the
army of General Burgoyne (in a note) g3
American invasion and depredations in the Indian country the latter part of
1776, as stated by Dr. Ramsay g^
The invasion unprovoked, but professedly as a "precaution " to "prevent all
future co-operation between the Indians and British in that quarter "
bordering in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia 84
Complete destruction of Indian settlements ; their country a desolation 84
CHAPTER XXXIV.
The Massacre of Wyoming ; four versions of it by accredited Ameri-
can Historians, all differing from each other ; the facts inves-
tigated AND FALSE STATEMENTS CORRECTED 85-9<?
The original inflated and imaginary accounts of the " Massacre of Wyominf^ " 85
Four versions of it by accredited historians
The account given by Dr. Ramsay
Remarks upon Dr. Ramsay's account ' _^
Description of Wyoming
Mr. Bancroft's account of the " Massacre " * „„
CONTENTS. IX
PAGE
Mr. Tucker's brief account of the " Massacre " 90
Mr. Hildreth's more intelligible and consistent account of the " Massacre ". . 90
Remarks on the discrepancies in four essential particulars of these four
accounts 94
Supplementary remarks, founded on Colonel Stone's refutation of the original
fabulous statements of the "Massacre," in his '^ Life of Joseph Brant,
i')icluding the Border Wars of the American Revolution " 98
CHAPTER XXXV.
American retaliation for the alleged "Massacre of Wyoming," as
naekated by american historians 99-122
Destruction of Indian villages and settlements for several miles on both sides
of the Susquehanna by the Americans 99
Attack in retaliation "by Indians and Tories" on Cherry Valley, but more
than revenged by Colonel G. Van Shaick on the settlements 99
The destruction of Indian villages and other settlements to the extent of
" several miles on both sides of the Susquehanna," more than an equival-
ent revenge for the destruction of Wyoming (in a note) 100
This only the beginning of vengeance upon the Indian settlements on the
part of the "Continentals ; " cruelties compared 100
General Sullivan's expedition, and destruction of the towns, settlements, crops,
and orchards of the Six Nations of Indians, as stated by Dr. Andrews. . . 100
The same expedition, as stated by Mr. Bancroft, Mr. Hildreth, Mr. Holmes,
and Dr. Ramsay 102
Further examples of "retaliation," so-called, inflicted upon the Indians and
their settlements (in a note) 106
The "Tories," driven among the Indians as their only refuge, treated as
traitors ; their conduct and duty 108
Colonel Stone's account in detail of General Sullivan's expedition of exter-
mination against the Six Nations of Indians 108
Dr. Franklin's fictions on the massacre and scalping of the whites by Indians,
in order to inflame the American mind against England ; his fictions
recorded as history 115
Injustice done to the Indians in American accounts of them ; their conduct
compared with that of their white enemies 119
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Situation and treatment of the Loyalists during the War. . . .123-138
Summary of the condition and treatment of the Loyalists 123
The relation of both parties before the Declaration of Independence 123
How the Declaration of Independence changed the relations of parties both in
England and America ... 123
At the Declaration of Independence the adherents to England the largest part
of the population of the Colonies 124
Elements of their affectionate attachment to England 125
Their claims to have their rights and liberties respected . . , ; 125
X CONTENTS.
PAGE
Their position and character stated by Mr. Hildreth ; abused by mobs and
oppressed by new Acts and authorities 125
John Adams the prompter and adviser for hanging "Tories ;" bis letter to
the Governor of Massachusetts on the subject 127
First scene of severity against Loyalists at Boston ; new American maxim of
morals for not forgiving " Tories " 127
Treatment of Loyalists in New York, Philadelphia, Virginia, and other places 128
Kindness of the French officers and soldiers after the defeat of Lord Cornwallis 129
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XXXVI.
State Legislative and Executive acts against the Loyalists 130
Rhode Island ; Connecticut 130
Massachusetts 131
New Hampshire ; Virginia ; New York 131
New Jersey ; Pennsylvania ; Delaware 132
Maryland ; North Carolina ; Georgia 132
South Carolina 134
Remarks on the Confiscation Acts and policy of the several States mentioned. 136
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Tkeatment of the Loyalists on their applications foe redress after
THE Revolution 139-144
Impolicy of such persecuting proceedings on the part of the States, by an
American writer 141
APPENDIX "A" TO CHAPTER XXXVII.
Review of the principal characteristics of the American Revolution, and re-
marks on the feelings which should now be cultivated by both of the
former contending parties, by Mr. J. M. Ludlow 145
APPENDIX "B" TO CHAPTER XXXVII.
Reflections of Lord Mahon on the American contest ; apology for George III. ;
unhappiness of Americans since the Revolution ; unity of the Anglo-
Saxon Race 154
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Treatment of the Loyalists by the British Government and Par-
liament AFTER THE REVOLUTION , 159-182
PART FIRST.
Proceedings in Parliament ; refusal of the States to compensate the Loj^alists
as proposed in the Treaty of Peace, and contrary to the example and prac-
tice of civilized nations jgg
CONTENTS. XI
PAGE
In the House of Commons, Mr. "Wilberforce, Lord North, Lord Mulgrave,
Secretary Townsend, Mr. Burke, Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Norton, Sir Peter
Burrell, Sir William Bootle, and other members of Parliament, spoke on
the subject 160
In the House of Lords, Lords Walsingham, Townsend, Stormont, Sackville,
Loughborough and Shelburne, also advocated the claims of the Loyalists. 163
Grounds of the responsibility of Parliament to the Loyalists for compensation 164
Unpopular and unprecedented omissions in the terms of Peace 164
Fallacy of the argument of advocates of the Treaty 165
■ PART SECOND.
Agents in England of the Loyalists ; proceedings of the Parliamentary Com-
mission ; results 166-182
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The Loyalists driven feom the United States to the British Pro-
vinces 183-190
CHAPTER XL.
Brief sketches of some individual Loyalists in the British Pro-
vinces; first settlers in Canada, and how they travelled
hither 190-208
1. Samuel Anderson; 2. Rev. John Bethune ; 3. Doanes — five brothers;
4. Stephen Jarvis ; 5. Wm. Jarvis ; 6. David Jones ; 7. Jonathan Jones
8. Captain Richard Lippincott ; 9. The McDonalds; 10. John McGill
11. Donald McGillis ; 12. Thomas Merritt ; 13. Beverley Robinson
14. Beverley Robinson, jun. ; 15. Christopher Robinson ; 16. Sir John
Beverley Robinson ; 17. Sir Charles Frederick Pliillipse Robinson ;
18. Morris Robinson; 19. John Robinson; 20. Roger Morris; 21. Allen
McNab ; 22. Luke Carscallian ; 23. John Diamond ; 24. Ephraim Tisdale;
25. Lemuel Wilmot
Dr. Canniff's account of the migration of the first Loyalists from Lower Can-
ada, and settlement on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence, and in the
country round and west of Kingston 204
CHAPTER XLI.
First settlement of Loyalists in the British Provinces — especially
OF Upper Canada, — their adventures and hardships, as v^ritten
BY themselves OR THEIR DESCENDANTS 208-270
First settlement of the first company of Loyalists at the close of the Revo-
lutionary War, in and near Kingston, Upper Canada, by the late Bishop
Richardson, D.D 208
First settlement of Loyalists in Nova Scotia, by a gentleman of that Pro-
vince 211
Xii CONTENTS.
PAGE
Colonel Joseph Robinson, his adventures and settlement, by the late Hon.
E. Hodgson, Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island • • 213
Robert Clark, his sufferings in the Revolutionary War, and settlement in
the Midland District, U. C; by his son, late Colonel John C. Clark 216
Captain William B. Hutchinson, his sufferings and settlement in Walsing-
ham, County of Norfolk, U. C. ; by his grandson, J. B. Hutchinson, Esq. , , 218
Patriotic feeling and early settlement of Prince Edward County and neighbor-
ing Townships ; by Canniff Haight, Esq 219
Colonel Samuel Ryerse, his adventures, settlement, and character, in the
County of Norfolk ; in letters by his son, the late Rev. George J. Ryerse;
and in a memorandum, including a history of the early settlement of the
County of Norfolk, and recollections of the war of 1812-1815; by Mrs.
Amelia Harris, of Eldon House, London, U. C 226
Colonel Joseph Ryerson, his adventures, sufferings, and settlement in the
County of Norfolk, U. C. ; by an intimate friend of the family 257
Note. — Colonel Samuel Ryerse and Colonel Joseph Ryerson were brothers,
and both officers in the British army during the Revolutionary War ; but in
the commission of the former, his name was spelled Ryerse ; and it being
difficult at that time to correct such an error, he and his descendants have
always spelt their name Ryerse, though the original name of the family,
in the records of New Jersey, in Holland, and previously in the history of
Denmark, is Ryerson
Interesting piece of local history ; by the Rev. Dr. Scadding 259
Loyalty and sufferings of the Hon. John Monroe ; by his son 261
Sufferings of the U. E. Loyalists during the Revolutionary War ; vindica-
tion of their character — including that of Butler's Rangers — their priva-
tions and settlement in Canada ; by the late Mrs. Elizabeth Bowman
Sphon, of Ancaster, in the County of Wentworth, U.C., together with an
introductory letter by the writer of this history 264
CHAPTER XLII.
Origin and Charactee of the Governments of British North America
— Nova Scotia 271-276
CHAPTER XLIII.
Nevt Brunswick . 277-280
CHAPTER XLIY.
Prince Edward Island 280
CHAPTER XLV.
Government of Lower Canada 281-306
The famous Quebec Act, 14th Geo. III.; its provisions ; why and by whom op-
posed ; opposed in the Lords and Commons, and in the Colonies ; sup-
posed to have promoted the American Declaration of Independence 281
CONTENTS. Xlll
PAGE
Constitutional Act of 1791— Act 31st George III., chapter 31 285
Mr. Pitt explains the principal provisions of the Bill ; provided against the
imposition of taxes in the colonies by the Imperial Parliament ; opposed
by some members in the Commons ; rupture between Burke and Fox (in
a note) ; Pitt's defence of the Bill 285
The Bill becomes an Act ; separates Upper from Lower Canada ; constitutes a
legislature for each province ; how the two branches of the legislature
were constituted ; the representative form of government obtained by the
United Empire Loyalists 286
The Administration of the Government and Legislation in Lower Canada under
the new constitution 288
Lord Dorchester Governor-General ; first session of the Legislature ; Speakers
of the two Houses ; a Speaker elected in the House of Assembly who could
speak both the French and English language 289
The Governor's first speech to the Legislature 290
The cordial and loyal response of the House of Assembly 290
Useful and harmonious legislation ; a noble example and illustration of loyalty
by the House of Assembly before the close of the session 292
The Governor's speech at the close of the session 294
Unjust statements against the French corrected (in a note) 294
Second session of the Legislature called by Lord Dorchester on his arrival from
England ; his cordial reception ; beneficial legislation ; Canadians recoil
from the horrors of the French Revolution 295
French Republican agents endeavour to incite Canadians to revolt, and to ex-
cite hostilities against England in the United States 297
Mutual cordiality between the Governor-General and the House of Assembly. . 297
Visit of the Duke of Kent to Lower Canada as Commander of the Forces ; his
wise and patriotic counsels ; beneficial influence of his visit and residence. 297
Lord Dorchester lays the public accounts before the Assembly; their contents;
this proceeding highly satisfactory to the Assembly ; bills passed and as-
sented to 298
Interval of quiet between the second and third Sessions of the Legislature ;
Lord Dorchester's practical and noble speech at the opening of the third
Session ; IMr. Christie's remarks upon it ; cordial answer of the House of
Assembly, to whom the public accounts were transmitted, even more
comprehensive and complete than those sent down the previous Session. . 299
Commissioners first appointed to adjust the revenues between Upper and
Lower Canada ; their courteous and fair proceedings on both sides 301
Gratifying close of the third Session 302
Auspicious opening, useful legislation, and happy conclusion of the fourth and
last Session of the first Parliament of Lower Canada 302
Termination of Lord Dorchester's thirty-six years connection with Canada ;
review of his conduct and cliaracter by the historian Bancroft ; cordial
addresses to him, and his affectionate answers 303:
Meritorious conduct of the French Canadians 305
xiv CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XLVr.
Government of Upper Canada 307-315
PAGE
How governed and divided by Lord Dorchester before the Constitutional Act
of 1791 307
The Constitutional Act of 1791, 31 George III., chapter 31, and construction
of governments under it 307
General John Graves Simcoe the first Governor ; character of his government ;
arrives at Kingston 8th July, 1792, where the members of the Executive
Legislative Councils were sworn into office, and writs issued for the elec-
tion of members of the House of Assembly 308
The seat of government first established at Newark, now Niagara, where a
small frame liouse was built for the Governor, and in which also the first
Session of the Legislature was held 308
Number of members of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly present
at the opening of the Session ; their character 309
Number and character of the population of the country, including the Mohawk
Indians, headed by Joseph Brant 309
First Session of the first Parliament and its work 309
Remarkable speech of Governor Simcoe at the close of the Session, explanatory
of our constitution of govei-nment 310
Change of the seat of government and reasons for it 311
Governor Simcoe's work and policy ; removal to the West Indies, and aban-
donment of his wise policy 311
Parliament meets at Niagara until 1797 ; its legislation ; Governor Simcoe's
successor, the Hon. Peter Russell and General Hunter ; population of
Upper Canada in 1800 312
Legislation, progress, trade, custom-houses 313
Provision for one Grammar School Master in each of the eight districts 314
Emigration ; legislation ; experience of the country during sixteen years under
the new constitution 314
State of the country in 1809 314
Anticipated hostilities between Gi'eat Britain and the United States ; conclud-
ing remarks on this period of Canadian history 315
CHAPTER XLVII.
War of the United States against Great Britain, from 1812 to
1815 316-317
Introductory and general remarks ; illustrations of true loyalty ; war strugo-les
of England for human liberty when the United States joined the tyrant
of Europe in war and invaded Canada ; comparative population of Canada
and the United States ; Canada, almost unaided, successfully resists the
eleven invasions of the United States against her ; phases of the war
Against her „
CONTENTS. XV
CHAPTER XLVIII.
Declaration of Wak by the United States against Britain, and pke-
paeations for the invasion of canada 318-330
PAGE
The alleged and real causes of the war ; the Democratic party in the United
States always hostile to England and her colonies, and sympathisers with
every raid against Canada 318
Two alleged causes for the war by the United States ; Berlin decrees, and
answers to them by British Orders in Council — results 319
Collusion between Napoleon and the President of the United States against
England ; seduction and desertion of British sailors (nearly 10,000) be-
sides soldiers ; the justice and acknowledged right of the British claims,
and injustice and unreasonableness of the Madison Government's pro-
ceedings 319
The event betweeen the war.-ships" Leopard and Chesapeake ; American mis-
representations of it ; dishonest conduct of President Madison in respect
to it ; noble and generous proposal of the British Government, disclaim-
ing the conduct of the captain of the Leopard, and offering to compensate
all parties for injuries done them by the Leopard 323
The "Henry Plot" affair ; conduct of President Madison iu respect to it ;
declaration of war by the United States 327
CHAPTER XLIX.
Declaration of War by the United States 331-336
Declaration of war, June 18, 1812 ; votes in the House of Representatives for
and against it 331
Character of the war party and its Generals 333
Opposition to the war, and reasons against it, by a State Convention of New
York 333
Address of the House cf Representatives of Massachusetts against the war 334
The Orders in Council, as administered, beneficial to American merchants. . . . 335
CHAPTER L.
Preparations made by the Canadians for their defence 337-351
War against the Canadas being contemplated in the United States 337
Preparations by Lower Canada ; Sir George Prevost succeeds Sir James Craig
as Governor-General ; his character and first speech to the Legislatiire . . 338
The loyal answer of the Assembly, and liberal provisions for the defence of the
Province 338
Organization of militia 339
American residents allowed twenty days to leave the Province 340
Second Session of the War Legislature, 16th July, 1812 ; the Governor's
speech, relying upon the Province, and noble reply, and further various
and liberal supplies and measures of the Legislative Assembly to meet the
emergency 340
xvi CONTENTS.
PAGE
Preparations in Upper Canada for self-defence 341
General Brock calls a meeting of the Legislature, July 27, 1812 ; his stirring
speech at the opening of the session ; hearty response and liberal supplies
of the House of Assembly 342
Patriotic address of the Assembly to the people of Upper Canada, and remarks
upon it 342
CHAPTER LI.
First Invasion of Upper Canada, in the Western District, by Gen-
eral Hull, and his Proclamation to the Inhabitants of Upper
Canada, given entire in a note 346-351
General Brock's manly and overwhelming reply to General Hull's proclamation,
in an address to the people of Canada 349
CHAPTER LII.
General Brock takes Detroit, General Hull's Army, the Territory
OF Michigan, and Immense Military Stores 352-364
Incidents of this Great Achievement.
1. Smallness of General Brock's army, and the manner in which he collected it 3£3
Preparations at Windsor for the attack upon Detroit before General Brock's
arrival there 353
Crossing the river, and the surrender of Fort Detroit, &c 354
2. General Brock's council with the Indians at Sandwich before crossing the
river at Detroit ; his conversation with the great chief Tecumseh ; and
after the taking of Detroit, takes off his sash and places it around Te-
cumseh, who next day placed it around the Wyandot chief. Round Head ;
reasons for it given to General Brock 355
General Brock's estimate of Tecumseh, and the latter's watching and opinion
on the conduct of the former '. 356
Particulars of Tecumseh's personal history and death (in a note) 357
Surprise and taking of Michillimackinack, and other defeats, discouraging to
General Hull, before his surrender of Detroit 358
Particulars of the surrender 361
General Brock's proclamation to the people of Michigan 3g2
Kemarks on the difference in sentiment and style between this proclamation to
the inhabitants of Michigan and that of General Hull to the inhabitants
of Canada 3g3
General Brock's return to York ; having in 19 days settled public legislative
business, raised a little armj% taken a territory nearly as large as Upper
Canada, and an army three times as numerous as his own 354
CONTENTS. XVU
CHAPTER Llir.
Second Invasion of Upper Canada at Queenston 365-371
PAGE
Crossing of the river from Lewiston to Queenston of 1,500 regular troops, who,
by a private path, gain Queenston Heights ; death of General Brock ; the
invaders dislodged from the Heights and driven down the banks of the
river ; American militia refuse to cross the river ; American soldiers sur-
render to General Sheaffe to the number of 900 men, besides officers, in-
cluding General Wadsworth and Colonel Winfield Scott 365
Armistice 368
Incidents on the Niagara frontier after the death of General Brock, by Lieu-
tenant DriscoU, of the 100th Regiment 368
CHAPTER LIV.
Third American Invasion of Canada 372-379
A large American army assembled ; confidence of its success 372
No reinforcements from England ; but the sacrifice and zeal of the Canadians
for the defence of their country against this third and most formidable in-
vasion of the year 373
The Commander-in-Chief 's (General Smyth) address to his army, given entire
in a note 373
Its effect to bring 2,000 volunteers from the State of Pennsylvania 374
The troops embark ; General Smyth does not appear ; failure of the attempted
invasion ; General Smyth's flight from his own soldiers, who shoot off
their guns in disgust and indignation 375
Three armies, altogether of 10,000 men, defeated by less than 1,000 Canadian
volunteers and soldiers 378
CHAPTER LV.
An Invading Army of 10,000 men, under General Dearborn, Defeated
BY Colonel De Salaberry, with 300 Canadians, at Chateauguay;
Description of the Battle 380-382
The Canadian militia put in readiness to repel a second apprehended invasion,
but General Dearborn does not venture it, and retires with his hosts into
winter quarters 381
The Canadian militia allowed to retire for the winter 382
The armistice between Generals Sheaffe and Smyth injurious to Upper Canada
(in a note) 382
CHAPTER LVI.
Campaigns of 1813 383-425
Americans determined to conquer Canada this year 383
Disadvantage of the Governor-General of Canada from the fewness of his troops,
regulars and militia, compared with those of the invading armies 383
xviii CONTENTS.
PAGE
Three American invading armies— one consisting of 18,000 men, the second of
7,000 men, and the third of 8,000 men 384
General Proctor's slender force at Detroit
Battle of Frenchtown ; victory of Colonel Proctor ; American misrepresenta-
tions respecting it corrected ^°^
Colonel Proctor promoted to be General 388
Several American plundering raids on Brockville and neighbourhood ; retalia-
tory raid of the British on Ogdensburg ; town ordnance, arms, &c., taken,
and vessels destroyed 388
Canadian preparations in the winter of 1813 for the season's campaign ; U. E.
Loyalist regiment comes from Fredericton, New Brunswick, to Quebec, on
snow shoes 390
The American plan of campaign to invade and take Canada in 1813 390
The American fleet on Lake Ontario superior to the British fleet ; attack upon
York with 1,700 men, commanded by Generals Dearborn and Pike ;
battle, explosion of a magazine; many of both armies killed; Canadians
defeated and York taken 391
Americans evacuate York and return to Sackett's Harbour, after having
destroyed public buildings, and taken much booty 393
Americans attack Fort George, Newark (Niagara), by land and water, and
after a hard fight take the town and fort, the British retiring to Queens-
ton 393
General Vincent, having destroyed the fortifications on the frontier, retreats
to Burlington Heights, pursued by Generals Chandler and Winder, with
an army of 3,500 infantry and 300 cavalry 394
Colonel Harvey, with 700 men, surprises the whole American army at Stoney
Creek, captures their two generals and 150 men, &c 395
American army retreats in great disorder towards Fort George 396
The afi"air at the Beaver Dams; the capture of 700 American soldiers, with their
officers, by a small party of soldiers and Indians — the captured prisoners
being five to one of their captors 397
The American army confined to Fort George and its neighbourhood 397
A small party of the British retaliate the marauding game of the Americans by
crossing the river at Chippewa, attacking and dismantling Fort Schlosser
and bringing off military stores ; and seven days afterwards, 11th July,
crossing from Fort Erie to Black Eock, and burning the enemy's block-
• houses, stores, barracks, dockyards, &c 397
The two armies almost within gunshot of each other at Fort George ; but the
Americans could not be drawn out to a battle, though their numbers were
two to one to the British 398
General Harrison prepares to prosecute the war for recovering the Territories of
Michigan ; General Proctor raises the siege of Lower Sandusky, and re-
tires to Amherstburg 399
Unsuccessful expedition of Governor-General Prevost and Sir James L. Yeo
against Sackett's Harbour ; Sir George Prevost orders the withdrawment
of the troops, at the very crisis of victory, to the great disappointment
and dissatisfaction of his oflicers and men 300
CONTENTS. XIX
Occurrences on Lake Ontario.
PAGE
Second unsuccessful attempt of Commodore Sir James Yeo on Sackett's
Harbour 401
Commodore Chauncey's expedition to the head of the lake to take Burlington
Heights is deferred by the preparations of Colonels Harvey and Battersby
to receive him 402
Commodore Chauncej' makes a second raid upon York (Toronto), plunders,
burns, and departs ; singular coincidence 402
The British fleet, sailing from Kingston the last day of July, with supplies for
the army at the head of the lake, encounters the American fleet at Ni-
agara, and after two days' manceuvring, a partial engagement ensues, in
which the British capture two small vessels — the Julia and Growler .... 402
A graphic account of the naval manoeuviing and battle by the American his-
torian of the war, Breckenridge (in a note) 402
Encounters and tactics of the British and American fleets on Lake Ontario for
the rest of the season 404
Ocf'TJKRENCES ON LaKE ErIE AND IN THE WeST.
Fleet fitting out by Commodoi'e Perry at Presq^u' Isle (Erie) blockaded by
Commodore Barclay, who, neglecting his duty and absenting himself from
Presqu' Isle, allowed the American fleet to get over the bar at the mouth
of the harbour, and getting into t-he lake with their cannon reshipped and
completely equipped 405
Commodoi'e Barclay, the enemy too well manned and too powerful for him,
sails for Amherstburg ; is pursued by Commodore Perry and compelled to
fight, in which he lost his fleet, though he fought bravely 406
In consequence of the loss of the fleet on Lake Erie, the British army in pos-
session of the territory of Michigan, left without resources, evacuate the
territory and Fort Detroit, before an American army of 7,000 men and
1, 000 dragoons, under General Harrison 407
General Proctor retreats up the Thames ; is pursued by General Harrison, with
a force of 3,000 men, including 1,000 Kentucky dragoons, and overtaken
near Moravian Town, where a battle ensues, in which General Proctor is
defeated with heavy loss — the Indians remaining loyal, fighting longest,
sufi"ering most, with the loss of their chief, Tecumseh 408
Shameful burning of Moravian Town by the Americans 410
Americans accept Indian alliance ; Americans intoxicated by these successes,
but driven from every inch of Canadian territory before the end of the year. 410
American Invasion of Lower Canada.
Defeat of an American advance invading division, and capture of two vessels,
the Grotoler and Eagle, of eleven guns each, at the Isle-aux-Noix, by 108
men, under the command of Lieut.-Col. George Taylor 411
Attacks upon and capture and destruction of the American war materials, hos-
pitals, barracks, &c., at Plattsburg, under Colonel Murray (General Moore
retreating with 1,500 men), at Burlington (where was encamped General
Hampton with 4,000 men), capturing and destroying four vessels, and
XX CONTENTS.
PAGE
afterwards at the towns of Champlain and S wanton, destroying the block-
houses and barracks ^'■^
These successes but preliminary to the Canadian victories of Chateauguay, and
Chrysler's Farm ^13
BATTLE OF CHATEAUGUAY.
General Hampton, with 5,000 men, defeated by the skill and courage of
Colonel De Salaberry with 300 Canadians ; the battle described, and the
close of it witnessed, by the Governor-General Prevost and Major-General
DeWatteville 413
General Hampton with his demoralized army retires into winter quarters at
Plattsburg 417
Next expedition against Montreal by the St. Lawrence, under command of
General Wilkinson, with a force of 10,000 men; the American soldiers
promised grand winter quarters at Montreal 417
American army descends tlie St. LaAvrence from near Kingston in 300 boats ;
is followed by a detachment of the British from Kingston, under the com-
mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Morrison, wlio overtakes and skirmishes with
divisions of the American army on the way ; at the American post, at the
town of Hamilton, takes a considerable quantity of provisions and stores,
and two pieces of ordnance 418
Battle of Chrysler's Farm.
American force engaged between 3,000 and 4,000 men ; the British forces were
about 800 rank and file ; preliminaries and description of the battle, said
to be the most squarely and scientifically fought battle of the war 419
Losses ; General Wilkinson's testimony as to the loyalty and courage of the
Canadians 420
General Wilkinson proceeds down the St. Lawrence with his flotilla ; disap-
pointment and mortification at General Hampton's disobedience and failure
to meet him at St. Regis ; crosses the St. Lawrence and retires into winter
quarters at Salmon River 420
The campaign of the season terminated in Lower Canada ; the Canadian
militia dismissed to their homes with thanks and applause 421
British Victories in Upper Canada.
In December, 1813, Lieutenant-General Drummond supersedes Major-General
DeRottenburgh in command of Upper Canada, and proceeds to York and
the head of the Lake at Burlington Heights ; despatches Colonel Murray
to arrest the predatory incursions of General McClure in the neighbour-
hood of Fort George, of which he was then in possession 400
McClure's plundering the inhabitants ; his barbarous act in burniuo- the town
of Newark (Niagara), and flight to the American side of the river . . . 403
The British, under command of Colonel Murray, take Fort Niagara, the whole
garrison, and much warlike supplies ,„„
Lewiston, Manchester, Black Rock and Buflalo destroyed in retaliation for
the burning of Newark (Niagara), and exposure of 400 women and chil-
dren, by McClure
CONTENTS. XXI
PAGE
Proclamation issued by General Drummond, deprecating this savage mode of
warfare, and declaring his purpose not to pursue it, unless compelled by
the measures of the American Government 425
CHAPTER LVII.
Movements and Campaigns in 1814 — The third and last year of the
WAR 426-434
Two years' expensive failures of American invasions against Canada ; prepa-
rations on both sides for tlie third year's campaigns 426
Volunteers, soldiers and sailors, march through the woods from New Brunswick
to Canada 426
Expression of Royal satisfaction and admiration of the loyalty and courage of
the Canadians during the war, making special mention of the aifair of
Chateauguay and Colonel De Salaberry 427
First American invasion of Lower Canada in 1814 ; the American soldiers,
crossing Lake Champlain on the ice, attack LeColle Mill (Block-house),
and are driven back by a small but heroic force of Canadians 427
General Wilkinson returns with his army to Plattsburg ; and, disappointed
and mortified at his failures, retires from the array 428
Prairie du Chien, on the Mississippi, taken by the British, and Fort Michil-
limackiuack triumphantly defended against a large American force ; and
Sir John C. Slierbrook, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, reduces an
extensive portion of American territorj' adjoining New Brunswick, and
adds it to that Province 428
Peace in Europe ; reinforcements of 16,000 veteran soldiers from England to
Canada 430
Sir George Prevost's abortive expedition against Plattsburg censured ; recalled
to England to be tried by court-martial ; dies a week before the day of trial 330
The estimate of Mr. Christie, the Canadian historian, of the character and
policy of Sir George Prevost 431
Opening of the campaign in Upper Canada ; expedition from Kingston against
Oswego, which is dismantled, its fortifications destroyed, military stores,
&c. , seized 432
British fleet, supreme on Lake Ontario, blockades Sackett's Harbour ; inter-
cepts supplies being sent from Oswego to Sackett's Harbour, but is unsuc-
cessful in pursuing American supply boats up the Sandy Creek ; the pur-
suers taken prisoners and well treated by the Americans 438
CHAPTER LVIIT.
Last Invasions and last Battles of the v^^ar 435-460
Americans, in two divisions, under command of Brigadier-Generals Scott and
Ripley, cross the river and land on the Canadian side above and below
Fort Erie, which is commanded by Major Buck, and surrendered without
firing a shot, to the great loss of the Bi'itish, and to the great advantage
of the Americans 435
General Brown, with a force of over 4,000 troops, advances down the river
from Fort Erie, with a view of taking Chippewa ; is encountered by
xxii CONTENTS.
PAGE
General Riall, who is compelled to retire to the rear of his works at
Chippewa ; heroism of the Lincoln Militia ^^'^
General Riall retires to Fort George, pursued by General Brown ; pillage of
the American soldiers and officers in the neighbourhood of Fort George . . 437
Both armies reinforced ; General Brown in difficulties ; retreats towards Chip-
pewa ; is pursued by General Riall ; burns the village of St. David's ;
makes a stand at Lundy's Lane— called Bridgewater by the Americans , 437
Battle of Lundy's Lane ; preliminaries to it 438
The battle itself ; protracted and bloody struggle ; Americans retreat to be-
yond Chippewa 439
Forces engaged ; losses on both sides ; victory absurdly claimed on the Ameri-
can side 441
American army retreats to Fort Erie, pursued by General Drummond, who
invests the fort ... 443
Storming the fort ; terrible conilict ; on the point of victory a magazine blown
up, destroying all the British soldiers who had entered the fort — including
Colonels Drummond and Scott — compelling the retirement of the assail-
ant.s ; British losses severe 444
The enemy shut up for a month in the fort by the British investment 445
At the expiration of a month the enemy makes a sortie, inth his whole force ;
surprises and destroys the batteries ; a bloody conilict ; the enemy com-
pelled to return to the fort with a loss of 600 men 445
Incessant rains prevent General Drummond repairing his batteries ; he raises
tlie siege and tries in vain to bring General Brown to a general engage-
ment, but he evades it and evacuates Fort Erie 446
Thus terminates the last American invasion of Canada, without acquiring
possession of an inch of Canadian territory 446
Summary review of Canadian loyalty, and the causes, characteristics, and
the results of the war, in an address delivered at Queenston Heights, near
Brock's Monument, by the author, at the anniversary of the Battle of
Lundy's Lane, July, 1875 447
CHAPTER LIX.
Miscellaneous Documents and Papers extracted from United Empire
LoYALLST Manuscripts in the Dominion Library at Ottawa . . 461-464
Character of the Canadian Militia 462
American invasions of Canada and their military forces 4g2
Notice of Colonel John Clarke and his manuscript contributions 462
The treatment of Canadians by the American invaders 4^0
The Royal Patriotic Society of Upper Canada and its doings in raising and
disti-ibuting upwards of £20,000 to relieve Canadian sufferers by the war 466
CHAPl'ER LX.
State of Canada after the Close of the War ; Conclusion 459
THE
LOYALISTS OF AMERICA
AND
THEIR TIMES,
FROM 1620 TO 1816.
CHAPTER XXVII.
The War of the American Revolution after the Declaration of
Independence — The Alliance between the Congress and King
of France — The Alliance not Productive of the Effects
Anticipated — Efforts of the British Government for Recon-
ciliation WITH THE Colonies not Successful.
It was supposed, both in America and France, that when
the alliance between the King of France and Congress, referred
to in the last chapter of the previous volume, became known in
England, though it was not publicly avowed until February,
1778, England would be weakened and discouraged from further
warlike effort, and immediately offer terms of peace, upon the
ground of American independence ; but the reverse was the case.
The alliance between Congress and the King of France was
kept in abeyance by the latter during more than a twelve-
month after it was applied for by the agents of Congress, until
after the defeat and capture of General Burgoyne and the
refusal of Congress to confer with Lord and General Howe, as
British Commissioners, without the previous acknowledgment
by the Commissioners of the independence of the United States.*
* " While the American Commissioners were urging the Ministers of the
King of France to accept the treaty proposed by Congress, they received
vol. II. — 1
2 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVII.
Lord Admiral Howe, having spent some months with his
fleet at Halifax, did not arrive at Sandy Hook nntil the 12th
of July, eight days after the Declaration of Independence.
" Besides the troops. Lord Howe had brought with him a
document which it was hoped might render them unnecessary
— the Royal warrant appointing himself and General Howe
Commissioners under the Act of Parliament for the pacification
of America. No douht the selection of such men was most
wisely made. The memory of their elder brother, who had
fallen gloriously in the wars against the French in Canada, was
endeared to the colonists, who had fought by his side. Both
Lord Howe and the General, but Lord Howe especially, had
ever since cultivated a friendly intercourse with Americans,
and now entertained a most earnest wish to conclude the strife
against them. But judicious as was the choice of the Com-
missioners, the restricted terms of the Commission were certainly
in the highest degree impolitic. Lord Howe had laboured, but
vainly, to obtain its enlargement ; it amounted, in fact, to little
assurances of the good wishes of the Court of France ; but were from time to
time informed tliat the important transactions required further consideration,
and were enjoined to observe the most profound secrecy. Matters remained
in this fluctuating state from December, 1776, till December, 1777. Private
encouragement and public discountenance were alternated ; but both varied
according to the complexion of news from America. The defeat on Long
Island, the reduction of New York, and the train of disastrous events in
1776, which have already been mentioned, sunk the credit of the Americans
very low, and abated much of tlie national ardour for their support. Tlieir
subsL'fjuent successes at Trenton and Princeton effaced these impressions,
and rekindled active zeal in their behalf. The capture of Burgoyne (October,
1777) fixed these wavering politics. The successes of the American cam-
paign of 1777 placed them on high ground. Their enmity proved itself
formidable to Britain, and their friendship became desirable to France. It
was therefore determined to take tliem by the hand and publiclv espouse
their cause. The Commissioners of Congress, on the 16th of December 1777
were informed by M. Gerard, one of the Secretaries of the King's Council of
State, ' that it was decided to acknowledge the independence of the United
States, and to make a treaty with them ; that in the treaty no advantaf^e
would be taken of their situation to obtain terms which otherwise it would
not be convenient for them to agree to ; that his Most Christian Majesty
desired the treaty, once made, shouhl be durable, and their amity to subsist
for ever, which could not be expected if each nation did not find' an interest
in its continuance as well as in its commencement.'" (Dr. Ramsav's Historv
of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xv., pp. 246, 247.)
CHAP. XXVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 3
more than the power, first, of receiving submissions, and then,
but not till then, of granting pardons and inquiring into
grievances.* Yet, still, since these terms had not been divulged,
and were much magnified by common rumour, the name of the
Commission was not ill adapted for popular effect. Had Lord
Howe arrived with it a few weeks before, as he might and
should have done, we are assured by American writers that an
impression might have been produced by it, in some at least of
the thirteen colonies, to an extent which they ' cannot calculate,'
or rather, perhaps, which they do not like to own. But these
few months had been decisive in another direction. During
these months both the feeling and the position of the insurgents
had most materially changed. "-f
" The two Royal Commissioners," says Dr. Ramsay, " Admiral
and General Howe, thought proper, before they commenced their
*"MS. Instructions, May, 6th, 1776, State Paper Otfice. — It is therein
required as a preliminary condition, before any province shall be declared
in the King's peace, that its Convention, or Committee, or Association ' which
have usurped powers,' shall be dissolved."
t Lord Mahon's History of England, Vol. VI., Chajx liii., pp. 137, 138.
Lord Mahon adds : " At the beginning of the troubles, as I have already
shown, and for a long time afterwards, the vast majority of the Americana
had no wish nor thought of separation from the mother country. Their
object was substantially, and with some new safeguards for their riglits, to
revert to the same state in which they had been before the Administration
of George Grenville. But the further the conflict proceeded, the less and
less easy of attainment did that object seem. How hard, after what had
passed, to restore harmonious action between the powers now at strife, for
the people to trust the Governors appointed by the King, and for the King
to trust the Assembly elected by the people. Even where the actual wrong
might have departed, it would still leave its fatal legacy, rancour and
suspicion, behind. Under the influence of these feelings a great number of
persons in all the colonies were gradually turning their minds to the idea of
final separation from the parent State. Still, in all these colonies, except
only in New England, there were many lingering regrets, many deep-rooted
doubts and misgivings. John Adams writes as follows : ' My dear friend
Gates, all our misfortunes arise from a single source — the reluctance of the
Southern colonies to republican government ' (March, 1776, American
Archives, Vol. V., p. 472). Here are the words of another popular leader :
' Notwithstanding the Act of Parliament for seizing our property, there is a
strange reluctance in the minds of many to cut the knot which ties us to
Great Britain'" (Letter of Reed to Washington, March 3rd, 1776).— 16.,
pp. 139, 140.
4 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVII.
military operations, to try what might be done in their civil
capacity towards effecting a reunion between Great Britain and
the colonies. It was one of the first acts o£ Lord Howe to send
on shore a circular letter to several of the Royal Governors in
America, informing them of the late Act of Parliament ' for
restoring peace to the colonies, and granting pardon to such as
should deserve mercy,' and desiring them to publish a declara-
tion which accompanied the same. In this, he informed the
colonists of the power with which his brother and he were en-
trusted ' of granting general or particular pardons to all those
who, though they had deviated from their allegiance, were
willing to return to their duty : ' and of declaring 'any colony,
province, county or town, port, district or place, to he in the
peace of his Majesty.' Congress, impressed with the belief
that the proposals of the Commissioners, instead of disuniting
the people, would have a contrary effect, ordered them to be
speedily published in the several American newspapers. Had
a redress of grievances been at this late hour offered, though
the honour of the States was involved in supporting their late
Declaration of Independence, yet the love of peace, and the
bias of great numbers to their parent State, would, in all proba-
bility, have made a powerful party for rescinding the Act of
Separation, and for re-uniting with Great Britain ; but when it
appeared that the power of the Royal Commissioners was little
more than to grant pardons. Congress appealed to the good sense
of the people for the necessity of adhering to the Act of Inde-
pendence."*
It was a diplomatic blunder and an unwise policy for the
English Commissioners to make known to the public the re-
stricted authority of their commission, instead of simply
stating in general terms their commission under the authority
of the Act of Parliament " for restoring peace to the colonies "
On such grounds and for such an object the Congress could have
offered no justifiable excuse for refusing a conference with the
Royal Commissioners ; and when, in the course of the discussion
it should have been found that the Commissioners could not
agree with, and did not feel themselves authorized to accede to
* Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II Chao xJ
121, 122. '' ^' ' PP-
CHAP, XXVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 5
all the demands of the agents of Congress, the Royal Com-
missioners (both of whom were known to be friends of the
colonies, and opposed to the high-handed measures of the Par-
liament) could have noted the points of difference, and agreed
to recommend the demands made upon them to the most
favourable consideration of the King's Government : at all
events, friendly intercourse and negotiations would have been
opened which would have been probably followed by a suspen-
sion of hostilities, if not complete reconciliation. But this was
what Congress, led by John Adams and Dr. Franklin — bitter
enemies to reconciliation — dreaded; and they very shrewdly
saw and improved the imprudent exposure of the Royal Commis-
sioners, by directing the publication of their circular letter and
declaration in all the provincial newspapers, " that the good
people of the United States may be informed of what nature
are the Commissioners, and what the terms, with expectation of
which the insidious Court of Great Britain had endeavoured to
amuse and disarm them ; and that the few who still remain
suspended by a hope, founded either on the justice or modera-
tion of their late King, might now at length be convinced that
the valour alone of their country is to save its liberties."
Thus all conference with the Royal Commissioners was
refused on the part of the leaders in Congress ; war and blood-
shed followed, and a year of disastrous defeats to the Revolu-
tionists ; but the position of the Loyalists may be inferred from
the resolution of the New York Revolutionary Convention,
adopted a few days after the Declaration of Independence, and
before the actual commencement of hostilities, and which was
as follows : " That all persons residing within the State of New
York, and claiming protection from its laws, owed it allegiance ;
and that any person owing it allegiance, and levying war
against the State, or being an adherent to the King of Great
Britain, should be deemed guilty of treason and suffer death."
The Convention also resolved : " That as the inhabitants of
King's County had determined not to oppose the enemy, a Com-
mittee should be appointed to inquire into the authenticity of
these reports, and to disarm and secure the disaffected, to
remove or destroy the stock of grain, and, if necessary, to lay
the tvhole country waste." Such treatment of adherents to the
unity of the empire, and of even neutrals, at the very com-
6 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVII.
mencement of the war, goes far to account for the warfare of
extermination in many places between the two parties in sub-
sequent years. This mode of warfare was first instituted
against the Loyalists, who acted on the defensive, and who
have been loudly complained of by American historians for
having afterwards, and on some occasions cruelly retaliated
upon those who had driven them to desperation.
A little more than eighteen months after the Declaration of
Independence, 17th of February, 1778, three Bills were intro-
duced into and passed by the British Parliament, which entirely
removed all the grounds of complaint made by the colonists 'in
previous years, and provided for the appointment of Commis-
fiioners to settle all differences between the colonies and the
mother country. The first of these Bills was entitled, " For
removing Doubts and Apprehensions concerning Taxation by
the Parliament of Great Britain in any of the Colonies." It
expressly repealed by name the tea duty in America, and
declared : " That from and after the passing of this Act the
King and Parliament of Great Britain will not impose any
duty, tax, or assessment whatever in any of his Majesty's
(American) colonies, except only such duties as it may be
expedient to impose for the regulation of commerce ; the net
produce of such duties to be always paid and applied to and
for the use of the colony in which the same shall be levied."
" Thus," says Lord Mahon, " was the claim of parliamentary
taxation fully, at last, renounced."
The second Bill was "To enable his Majesty to appoint
Commissioners with sufficient power to treat, consult, and ao-ree
upon the means of quieting the disorders now subsistino- in
certain of the colonies, plantations, and provinces of North
America." The Commissioners were to be five in number, and
were invested with extensive powers ; they were to raise no diffi-
culties as to the rank or title of the leaders on either side, but
were left at liberty to treat, consult, and agree with any body
or bodies politic, or any person or persons M'hatsoever ; they
might proclaim a cessation of hostilities on the part of the
King's forces by sea or land, for any time, or under any con-
ditions or restrictions ; they might suspend any Act of Parlia-
ment relating to America passed since the 10th of February
1763. In short, it was intimated that the Commissioners mio-ht
CHAP. XXVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 7
accept almost any terms of reconciliation short of independence,
and subject to be confirmed by a vote of Parliament.
Lord North introduced his Bills in an able and eloquent
speech of two hours, in which he reviewed his own career and
the several questions of dispute with the colonies.*
But though taunted from all sides, his Bills passed speedily
through both Houses of Parliament. Lord Mahon remarks :
" In spite of such taunts and far from friendly feelings on all
sides, the Conciliatory Bills, as they have been termed, were not
in reality opposed from any quarter. There was only one
division on a clause moved by Mr. Powys, to repeal expressly
by name the Massachusetts Charter Act. Lord North induced
a large majority to vote against that clause, but agreed that the
object in view should be attained by a separate measure. A Bill
for that purpose was therefore introduced by Mr. Powys, and
passed through Parliament concurrently with the other two.
In the House of Lords the same arguments were, with little
change, renewed. Lord Shelburne took occasion to declare his
* " The impression on the House that night, while Lord North was speaking,
and after he sat down, is well described by the pen ot a contemporary — no
other, in all probability, than Burke : ' A dull, melancholy silence for some
time succeeded to this speech. It had been heard with profound attention,
but without a single mark of approbation to any part, from any description
of men, or any particular man in the House. Astonishment, dejection, and
fear ov^erclouded the whole assembly. Although the Minister had declared
that the sentiments he expressed that day had been those which he always
entertained, it is certain that few or none had understood him in that
manner; and he had been represented to the nation at large as the person
in it the most tenacious of those parliamentary rights which he now proposed
to resign, and the most remote from the submissions which he now proposed
to make,'
" It may be said, indeed, that there was not a single class or section within
the walls of Parliament to which the plan of Lord North gave pleasure.
The Ministerial party were confounded and abashed at finding themselves
thus requested to acknowledge their j^ast errors and retrace their former
steps. Some among them called out that they had been deceived and be-
trayed. In general, however, the majority acquiesced in sullen silence. On
the other part, the Opposition were by no means gratified to see the wind,
according to the common phrase, taken from their sails. They could not,
indeed, offer any resistance to proposals so consonant to their own expressed
opinions, but they took care to make their support as disagreeable and
damaging as possible." (Lord Mahon's History of England, etc., Yol, VI.,
Chap. Ivii., jjp. 327— 329.)
8 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVII.
full concurrence in the sentiments of Lord Chatham, expressing
' the strongest disapprobation of every idea tending to admit
the independence of America,' although acknowledging that
future circumstances might create a necessity for such a sub-
mission. Lord Chatham himself was ill with gout at Hayes,
and did not appear. There was no division ; and on the 1 1th
of March (1778), the King, seated on his throne, gave to all
three measures the royal assent.*
Lord North and other members of his Administration were
convinced that the American problem could not be solved by
their own pai-ty ; that such a work could be accomplished by
the Earl of Chatham alone, as he had a few years before, by his
skill and energy, when the affairs of America were in a desperate
state after five years' unsuccessful war with France, dispossessed
France, in the short space of two years, of every inch of American
territory. The Duke of Richmond advocated immediate sur-
render of independence to the Americans, and peace with them,
in order to avoid a war with France ; he doubted the possibility
of even Lord Chatham being able to effect a reconciliation
between the American colonies and Great Britain. Three-
fourths of a century afterwards. Lord Macaulay expressed the
.same opinion ; but Lord Mahon, in his History, has expressed
a contrary opinion, and given his reasons in the following
words, well worthy of being carefully read and pondered :
" In the first place, let it be remembered with what great and
what singular advantages Lord Chatham would have set his
hand to the work. He had from the outset most ably and
most warmly supported the claims of the colonists. Some of
his eloquent sentences had become watchwords in their mouths.
* History of England, etc., Vol. VI., Chap. Ivii., pp. 329, 330.
Lord Mahon adds : " Only two days previously, Lord North, who had
opened his Budget on the 6th, had carried through his financial resolutions
in the House of Commons, involving a new loan of £6,000,000, which was
contracted on advantageous terms. Thus were funds provided to pursue the
war, should that be requisite. Thus was an opening made for negotiations
should they be practicable. In either case the path was cleared for a new
Administration. Here then was the moment which Lord North had for
some time past desired — the moment when, with most honour to himself and
with most advantage to his country, he could fulfil his intentions of resi<jn-
ing." (Lord Mahon's History of England, Vol. VI., Chap. Ivii pp
330, 331.) ' ^^'
CHAP. XXVII,] AND THEIR TIMES. 9
His statue had been erected in their streets ; his portrait was
hanging in their Council Chambers, For his great name they
felt a love and reverence higher as yet than for any one of
their own chiefs and leaders, not even at that early period
excepting Washington himself. Thus, if even it could be said
that overtures of reconciliation had failed in every other British
hand, it would afford no proof that in Chatham's they might
not have thriven and borne fruit.
" But what at the same period was the position of Congress ?
Had that assembly shown of late an enlightened zeal for the
public interests, and did it then stand high in the confidence and
affection of its countrymen ? Far otherwise. The factions and
divisions prevailing at their town of York (in Virginia, where
they removed from Baltimore), the vindictive rigour to politi-
cal opponents, the neglect of Washington's army, and the cabals
against Washington's powers, combined to create disgust, with
other less avoidable causes, as the growing depreciation of the
paper-money, the ruinous loss of trade, and the augmented
burdens of the war. Is the truth of this picture denied ?
Hear then, as witnesses, the members of Congress themselves.
We find in this very month of March (1778), one of them write
to another on the necessity of joint exertions to "revive the
expiring reputation of Congress." (Letter from William Duer,
of New York, to Robert Morris, dated March 6th, 1778, and
printed in the Life of Reed, Vol. I., p. 365.) We find another
lamenting that ' even good Whigs begin to think peace, at
some expense, desirable.' (General Reed to President Wharton,
February 1, 1778.)
" When such was the feeling in America, both as regarded
Lord Chatham and as regarded the Congress, it would not
certainly follow that any overture from the former would be
rejected on account of the disapprobation of the latter. The
provinces might, perhaps, have not been inclined to the deliber-
ations, or even cast off the sway of the central body, and make
terms of peace for themselves. At any rate, all such hope was
not precluded ; at least some such trial might be made.
" Nor does it appear to me, as to Mr. Macaulay, that there was
any, even the slightest, inconsistency in Lord Chatham having
first pronounced against the conquest of America, and yet re-
fusing to allow her independence. After the declaration in her
10 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVII.
behalf of France, Lord Chatham had said, no doubt, that
America could not be conquered. Had he ever said she could
not be reconciled ? It was on conciliation, and not on conquest,
that he built his later hopes. He thought the declaration of
France no obstacle to his views, but rather an instrument for
their support. He conceived that the treaty of alliance con-
cluded by the envoys of the Congress with the Court of Ver-
sailles might tend beyond any other cause to rekindle British
feelings in the hearts of the Americans. Were the glories of
Wolfe and Amherst, in which they had partaken, altogether
blotted from their minds ? Would the soldier-yeomen of the
colonies be willing to fight side by side with those French whom,
till within fifteen years, they had found in Canada their bitter
hereditary foes ? Tliat consequences like to these — that some
such revulsion of popular feeling in America might, perhaps,
ensue from an open French alliance, is an apprehension which,
during the first years of the contest, we find several times ex-
pressed in the secret letters of the Revolution chiefs ; it was a
possibility which we see called forth their fears ; why then
might it not be allowed to animate the hopes of Chatham ?"*
But Lord Chatham was not destined even to try the experi-
ment of o'iving America a second time to England ; in a few
days he fell in the House of Lords, to rise no more, with the
protest on his lips against the separation of the American
colonies from England. The Americans had no confidence in
the professions of a Parliament and Ministry which had
oppressed and sought to deceive them for twelve years. As
low as the Congress had fallen in the estimation of ^ large part
of the colonists, the English Ministry was regarded with uni-
versal distrust and aversion. The Congress refused even to
confer with the Royal Commissioners, and had sufiicent influence
to prevent any province from entering into negotiations with
them. All the former grounds of complaint had been removed
by the three Acts of Parliament above referred to, and all the
concessions demanded had been granted. The Royal Com-
missioners requested General Washington, on the 9th of June
(1778), to furnish a passport for their Secretary, Dr. Fercruson
* Lord Malion's History of England, Vol. VI., Chap. Ivii pp 344
347.
CHAP. XXVII.1 AND THEIR TIMES. 11
with a letter from them to Congress ; but this was refused, and
the refusal was approved by Congress. They then forwarded,
in the visual channel of communication, a letter addressed " To
his Excellency Henry Laurens, the President, and other Mem-
bers of Congress," in which they enclosed a copy of their com-
mission and the Acts of Parliament on which it was founded ;
and they offered to concur in every satisfactory and just
arrangement towards the following among other purposes :
" To consent to a cessation of hostilities both by sea and land ;
" To restore free intercourse, to revive mutual affection, and
renew the common benefits of naturalization through the
several parts of this empire ;
" To extend every freedom to trade that our respective
interests can require ;
" To agree that no military forces shall be kept up in the
different States of North America without the consent of the
General Congress, or particular Assemblies ;
" To concur in measures calculated to discharge the debts of
America, and to raise the credit and value of the paper circula-
tion ;
" To perpetuate our union by a reciprocal deputation of an
agent or agents from the different States, who shall have the
privilege of a seat and voice in the Parliament of Great Britain ;
or if sent from Great Britain, in tliat case to have a seat or
voice in the Assemblies of the different States to which they
may be deputed respectively, in order to attend to the several
interests of those by whom they are deputed ;
" In short, to establish the power of the respective Legisla-
tures in each particular State ; to settle its revenue, its civil
and military establishment, and to exercise a perfect freedom
of legislation and internal government ; so that the British
States throughout North America, acting with us in peace and
war under one common sovereign, may have the irrevocable
enjoyment of every privilege that is short of total separation
of interests, or consistent with that union of force on which
the safety of our common religion and liberty depends."*
The three Acts of Parliament and the proposals of the five
* Dr. Eamsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Cliap. xv., pp. 254,
255.
12 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVIl.
English Commissioners were far in advance of any wishes
which the colonists had expressed before the Declaration ot
Independence, and placed the colonists on the footing otbng-
lishmen-all that the Earl of Chatham and Mr. Burke had ever
advocated— all that the free, loyal, and happy Dominion oi
Canada enjoys at this day— all and nothing more than was
required for the unity of the empire and of the Anglo-Saxon
race; but the leaders of Congress had determined upon the
dismemberment of the empire— had determined to sever all
connection with the elder European branch of the Anglo-Saxon
family— had determined, and that without even consulting the
constituents whom they professed to represent, to transfer
their allegiance from England to France, to bind themselves
liand and foot to France— that they would make no peace with
England, upon any terms, without the consent of the French
Court.
It may be easily conceived what an effect would be produced
upon the truly national mind of both England and America
by such a transition on the part of the leaders of Congress and
their representatives abroad— a transition which might be
called a revolution, involving new issues and new relations of
parties ; for the question was no longer one of mere separation
from England, much less the question of Stamp Acts, or taxa-
tion without representation, or suspension of charters — all acts
and pretensions of this kind having been repealed and
renounced ; but the question was now one of union with the
hereditary foe of England and her colonies ; and the unnatural
alliance contemplated the invasion of England by the French,
the destruction of British commerce, the wresting from Eng-
land of the West Indies as well as Canada,* and the possession
* While Count D'Estaing was at Boston repairing his shattered fleet, he was
not unmindful of an essential part of his commission — to detach Canada from
England. " In pursuance of this design, a Declaration was published (dated
the 28th of October, 1778), addressed in the name of the King of France to
the French inhabitants of Canada, and of every other part of America
formerly subject to that Crown. This Declaration contained the liighest
praises of the valour of the Americans ; it laid before the inhabitants of
Canada the mortification they must endure in bearing arms against the allies
of their parent State ; it represented to them, in the strongest terms, the
ties formed by origin, language, manners, government, and religion, between
the Canadians and the French, and lamented the misfortune which had
CHAP. XXVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 13
by France of whatever islands or territory her navy and army
should conquer.
All this was a different thing from mere independence of the
mother country. The United Empire Loyalists and advocates
of colonial rights were now subject to a new allegiance, and
punished as rebels and their property confiscated if they would
not unite with the French against their English forefathers and
brethren. So enamoured were the leaders of Congress with
their new allies, that they interrupted the reading of the official
letter from the British Commissioners on account of a passage
which reflected upon France, and debated three days whether
they should allow the remaining part of the letter to be read.*
But the feelings of all classes in England, and of a large part,
occasioned a disjunction of that colony from France ; it recalled to their
remembrance the brave resistance they had made during the many wars
they had been engaged in against England, especialy the last ; it reminded
them of their favourite warriors and generals, particularly the valiant
Montcalm, who fell at their head, in defence of their country ; it earnestly
entreated them to reflect seriously on their disagreeable subjection to strangers
living in another hemisphere, differing from them in every possible respect,
who could consider them no otherwise than as a conquered people, and
would always, of course, treat them accordingly. It concluded by formally
notifying, that the Count D'Estaing was authorized and commanded by the
King of France to declare, in his name, that all his former subjects in North
America who should renounce their allegiance to Great Britain might depend
on his protection and support." (Dr. Andrews' History of the American
War, Vol. III., Chap, xxxviii., p. 171.)
* The conciliatory acts of the British Parliament and the letter of the
Commissioners were referred by the Congress to a Committee of three — all
known to be opposed to any reconciliation with England. This Committee
made, the next day after its appointment, a report which was adopted by
Congress, that the British acts were merely intended to operate upon the
hopes and fears of the American people, and to produce divisions among
them ; " that those who made any partial convention or agreement with the
Commissioners of Great Britain would be regarded as enemies ; and that
the United States could hold no conference with such Commissioners until
the British Government first withdrew its fleets and armies, or acknowledged
the independence of the United States.'''
" This rejection of terms which they not long before would have cordially
welcomed, was, no doubt, caused by the confident expectation they then had of
the support and alliance of France ; and accordingly the news of that alHance
soon after reached them, and diffused a general joy throughout the land."
(Tucker's History of the United States, Vol. I., Chap, iii., pp. 221, 222.)
14 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVII.
if not the great majority, of the colonists, were different from
those of the leaders of Congress, now depleted of many dis-
tinguished men who attended its previous year's sittings.*
(!• u I
The Declaration of Independence effected an alteration of sentiments
in En^dand. It was esteemed by many of the most judicious persons in this
country, a measure wholly unnecessary, and without recurring to which
America might have compassed every point proposed by continuing its
resistance to Britain on the same footing it had begun. This measure occa-
sioned an alienation from its interests in the minds of many of its former
adherents. It was looked upon as a wanton abuse of the success with which
it had opposed the efforts of the British Ministry to bring them to submis-
sion, ami as an ungrateful return for the warmth with which their cause had
beeii espoused in rarliament, and by such multitudes as in the idea of many
amounted to a plurality."
" The Declaration of France completed the revolution that liad been
gradually taking place in the opinions of men on their being repeatedly
apprised of the determination of Congress to break asunder all the bonds
of former amity, and to unite themselves in the closest manner with that
kingdom." (Dr. Andrews' History of the American War, Vol. III., Chap,
xxxiv., pp. 82 — 84.)
The Declaration of France in favour of the independence ot the Ameri-
can colonies, and of alliance with them, was officially communicated to the
British Government the 13th of March, 1778, a few days after which the
French fleet under the command of Count D'Estaing sailed from Toulon, and
arrived off the coast of America in July — after a long voyage of eighty -seven
days. On learning the departure of the French fleet for America, the British
Government sent out, in the same ships with the Peace Commissioners,
orders to Sir Henry Clinton to concentrate his forces on Long Island and
at New York. " The successor of Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, was," says
Lord Mahon, " in character, as upright and amiable ; in skill and enterprise,
much superior. Had the earlier stages of the war been under his direction,
his ability might not have been without influence upon them. But it was
his misfortune to be appointed only at a time when other foes had leagued
against us, when the path was beset with thorns and briars, when scarce
any laurels rose in view. In consequence of the impending war with
France, and in conformity with the advice of Lord Amherst to the
King, instructions had been addressed to Sir Henry, on the 23rd of March,
to retire from the hard- won city of Philadelphia, and concentrate his
forces at New York. This order reached him at Philadelphia, in tlie
month of May, only a few days after he had assumed the chief command ;
only a few days before, there came on shore the British Commissioners of
Peace. These Commissioners miglit weU complain with some warmth, in a
secret letter to Lord George Germaine, that an order so important, so
directly bearing on the success of their mission, should have been studiously
concealed from them until they landed in America, and beheld it in procrress
of execution. Thus to a private friend wrote Lord Carlisle (one of the
CHAP. XXVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 15
By this alliance with France the allied colonies became, as
it were, a part of France, bound up in oneness wath it — refusing
all overtures or negotiations with the representatives of Eng-
land without the approval of the French Court. The coasts,
cities, towns, etc., of the American allies of France therefore
became liable to the same treatment on the part of the British
army and navy as the coasts, cities, and towns of France. Of
this the British Commissioners informed the Congress, after the
latter had declared its identity with France, and refused any
further intercourse with them.*
CommissioneTs) : 'We arrived at this place, after a voyage of six weeks, on
Saturday last, and found everything here in great confusion — the army upon
the point of leaving the town, and about three thousand of the miserable
inhabitants embarked on board of our ships, to convey them from a place
where they think they would receive no mercy from those who will take posses-
sion after us.'"
" Thus from the first," says Lord Mahon, " the Commissioners had against
them the news of a retreat from Philadelphia, and the news of the treaty of
Paris ; further, they had against them, as the Opposition in England had
long foreseen and foretold, the fact of tlieir connection with Lord North.
Even at the outset, before their affairs could be known (June 14, 1778), one
of the leaders in America, General Joseph Reed, answered a private note
from one of them as follows : ' I shall only say that after the unparalleled
injuries and insults this country has received from tlie men who now direct
the afJ'airs of Great Britain, a negotiation under their auspices has much to
struggle with.' " " How different," remarks Lord Mahon, " might have been
his feelings, had they brought their Commission from Lord Chatham."
(History of England, Vol. VI., Chap. Iviii., pp. 372—374.)
Lord Mahon adds : " Not any, even the smallest opening, \^'as afforded to
these messengers of peace. They desired to despatcli to the seat of Con-
gress their Secretary, Dr. Adam Ferguson, the well-known Professor of
Edinburgh, and they applied to Washington for a passport, but Washing-
ton refused it until the pleasure of Congress should be known. The Con-
gress, on their part, had put forth a resolution declining even to hold any
conference with the Commissioners unless, as a preliminary, they should
either withdraw the fleets and armies, or else, in express terms, acknow-
ledge the independence of the United States. In vain did the Commis-
sioners address the President of the Congress, and entreat some considera-
tion of their terms. (For tlie terms, see page 11.) To none of these terms,
so tempting heretofore, would the Congress hearken ; and after their first
letter, they decided in a summary manner that no further reply should be
returned." — lb., pp. 374, 375.
* " Finding it impossible to proceed with their negotiations, the Com-
missioners prepared to re^embark for England. First, however, they issued
16 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVIt
The war for a short time after this period became more acri-
monious and destructive on both sides than before, as between
the French and English. But this policy of devastation and
retaliation was disapproved of by the British Government— was
confined mostly to some certain coast towns in New England,
while in the South the conduct of Col. Campbell, on the subju-
gation of Georgia, was marked by lenity and generosity.
a manifesto, or proclamation, to the American people, appealing to them
against the decisions of the Congress, and offering to the colonies at large, or
singly, a general or separate peace. This proclamation was in most parts
both ably and temperately argued. But there was one passage liable
to just exceptions. The Commissioners observed, that hitherto the hopes of
a reunion had checked the extremes of war. Henceforth the contest would
be changed. If the British colonies were to become an accession to France,
tliu law of self-preservation must direct Great Britain to render the acces-
sion of as little avail as possible to her enemy. Mr. Fox and others in the
House of Commons inveighed with great plausibility against this passage,
as threatening a war of savage desolation. Others again, as friends of
Lord Carlisle and Mr. Eden (afterwards Lord Auckland), asserted that no
such meaning was implied. The error, whatever it might be, lay with the
Commissioners, and in no degree with the Government at home ; for Lord
North denied, in the most express terms, that his Ministers had intended to
give the least encouragement to the introduction of any new kind of war in
North America." (Debate in the House of Commons, Dec. 4, 1778.)
Lord Mahon's History of England, etc., Vol. VI., Chap. Iviii., pp. 376,377.
CHAP. XXVm.] AND THEIR TIMES. 17
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Complete Failure op the French Fleet and Army, under Count
D'EsTAiNG, TO Assist the Congress.
The leaders of Congress were disappointed in the high ex-
pectations which they had entertained from their unnatural
alliance with France. Count D'Estaing left France with a much
more powerful fleet than Lord Howe commanded in America,
besides bringing an army of several thousand soldiers. He had
expected to surprise and capture the British ships in the River
Delaware ; but Lord Howe had sailed for New York several
days before his arrival. Count D'Estaing pursued, and lay
eleven days at anchor off Sandy Hook, not being able to get
his large ships over the bar into New York harbour. He at
length directed his course, by Washington's advice, to Long
Island, and sailed up the Newport river, whither he was
followed by Lord Howe. " An attack against the British
in that quarter had been projected between the new allies. The
French promised to land from their ships four thousand troops,
and the Americans actually sent a detachment of ten thousand
under General Sullivan. The British troops, only five thousand
strong, retired within their lines at Newport.
" At these tidings. Lord Howe, whose intended successor.
Admiral Byron, had not yet arrived, issued forth from the
Hudson and sailed in pursuit of D'Estaing. The two fleets
were on the point of engaging when separated by a violent
storm ; there were conflicts between individual ships only,
in which the honour of the British flag was worthily main-
tained. D'Estaing now declared his fleet so far damaged by
■xmT IT .
18 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVIII.
the storm as to compel him to put into Boston harbour and
refit. In this resolution he persisted, though Sullivan, Greene,
and other American officers altogether denied the necessity,
and even transmitted to him a written protest against it, couched
in the most acrimonious terms."*
Certain it is, that the course which D'Estaing pursued on
this occasion not only forced the Americans to relinquish their
enterprise upon Long Island, but roused up among them a
bitter feeling against the French. To such an extent was this
* " They urged D'Estaing to return with his fleet into the harbour ; but
his principal otficers were opposed to the measure, and protested against it.
He had been instructed to go into Boston if his fleet met with any mis-
fortune. His officers insisted on his ceasing to prosecute the expedition
against Rhode Island, tliat he might conform to the orders of their com-
mon superiors. A protest was drawn up and sent to liim, which was signed
by John Sullivan, Nathaniel Greene, John Hancock, I. Glover, Ezekiel
Cornel, William Whipple, John Tyler, Solomon Lovell, John Fitconuel.
They protested against the Count's taking the fleet to Boston, as derogatory
to the honour of France, contrary to the intention of his Christian Majesty
and the interests of his nation, destructive in the highest degree to the welfare
of the United States, and highly injurious to the alliance formed between
the two nations. Had D'Estaing prosecuted his original plan within the
harbour, either before or immediately after the pursuit of Lord Howe,
the reduction of the British post on Rhode Island (which had been in the
possession of the British since 1776) would have been probable ; but his
departure in the first instance to engage the English fleet, and in the second
from Rhode Island to Boston, frustrated the whole." (Dr. Ramsay's History
of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xvi., p. 272.)
" Whatever were the reasons which induced Count D'Estaing to adopt that
measure (of sailing with his fleet direct for Boston), the Americans were
greatly dissatisfied. They complained that they had incurred great expense
and danger, under the prospect of the most efl"ective co-operation ; that,
depending thereon, they had risked their lives on an island, where, without
naval protection, they were exposed to particular dangers j that in this
situation they were first deserted, and afterwards totally abandoned, at
a time when, by persevering in the original plan, they had well-grounded
l>opes of speedy success. Under these apprehensions the discontented
miUtia went home in such crowds that the regular army, which remained,
was in danger of being cut off from a retreat. In these embarrassin<^
circumstances, General Sullivan extricated himself with judgment and
ability. He began to send off his heavy artillery and baggage on the 26th
and retreated from the lines on the night of the 28th." (Lord Mahon's
History of England, etc.. Vol. VI., Chap. Iviii., p. 173.)
CHAP. XXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 19
animosity carried that riots ensued in the streets of Boston*
between the American seamen and their new allies.*f-
Even in regard to the mode of attacking the British on
Long Island, differences arose between Count D'Estaing and his
new American friends on questions of etiquette. Mr. Tucker
says : "D'Estaing's fastidiousness on points of etiquette, and
his refusal to aid in what would have given so serious a blow
to the British power in America, is calculated to raise a doubt
whether he was really anxious to bring the war to an imme-
diate conclusion."! Early in November, Count D'Estaing, with
the French squadron, quitted the port of Boston and sailed for
* " The inveteracy to the French, traditionally inherent in the lower
classes of the New England people, could not be restrained from breaking
out in Boston, in a manner that might have been attended with the most
serious consequences to the interests of both France and America, had not
the prudence of the magistracy interposed on the one hand, and the sagacity
of Count D'Estaing co-operated on the other. A desperate fray happened in
that city between the populace and-the French sailors, in which these were
roughly handled, and had much the worse. A number of them were hurt
and wounded, and some, it was reported, were killed."
" Precisely at the same time, a disturbance of a like nature happened at
Charleston, in South Carolina, between the French and American seamen,
but it was carried to much greater extremities ; they engaged on both sides
with small arms, and even with cannon. A number of people were killed
and wounded." (Dr. Andrews' History of the American War, Vol. III.,
Chap, xxxviii., pp. 172, 173.
t Lord Mahon's History of England, etc., Vol. VI., Chap. Iviii., pp.
380, 381.
" During this time Sir Henry Clinton sent out several expeditions in
various quarters. Near Tappan, a body of American horsemen under Colonel
Baylor were surprised and routed, or put to the sword. In Egg-Harbour,
great part of Count Pulaski's foreign legion was cut to pieces. At Buz-
zard's Bay, and on the island called Martha's Vineyard, many American
ships were taken or destroyed, storehouses burned, and contributions of
sheep and oxen leaded. In these expeditions the principal commander was
General Charles Grey, an oflBicer of great zeal and ardour, whom the Ameri-
cans sometimes surnamed the ' No-flint General,' from his common practice of
ordering the men to take the flints out of their muskets, and trust to their
bayonets alone. After some twenty years of further service, the veteran was
raised, by the favour of his Sovereign, to the peerage as Lord Grey of Howick,
and afterwards Earl Grey. His son became Prime Minister (father of the
present Earl Grey), and the greatest orator who, since the death of Chatham,
had appeared in the House of Lords." — lb., pp. 382, 383.
X Tucker's History of the United States, Vol. I., Chap, iii., p. 231.
20 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVIII.
the West Indies, there to pursue exclusively French objects.
" Deep was the disappointment and loud the animadversion of
the Americans in the Northern provinces. They had formed
the most sanguine hopes from the French alliance. They had
found that alliance as yet little better than a name."*
The results of Count D'Estaing's expedition, and of tlje French
alliance thus far, are well summed up by Dr. Ramsay in the
following words : " With the abortive expedition to Rhode
Island there was an end to the plans which were in this first
campaign projected by the allies of Congress for co-operation.
The Americans had been intoxicated with hopes of the most
decisive advantages ; but in every instance they were disap-
pointed. Lord Howe, Math an inferiority of force, not only pre-
served his own fleet, but counteracted and defeated all the views
and attempts of Count D'Estaing. The French fleet gained
no direct advantages for the Americans ; yet their arrival
was of great service to their cause. Besides deranging the
plans of the British, it carried conviction to their minds that
his Most Christian Majesty was seriously disposed to support
them. The good- will of their new allies was manifested to the
Americans ; and though it had failed in producing the eflects
expected from it, the failure was charged to winds, weather,
and unavoidable incidents. Some censured Count D'Estaing;
but while they attempted to console themselves by throwing
blame on him, they felt and acknowledged their obligation to
the French nation, and were encouraged to persevere in the
war, from the hope that better fortune would attend their
future co-operation."-f- Count D'Estaing proceeded with his
fleet to the West Indies, where he did nothing worthy of the
large fleet, reinforced by that of Count de Grasse with several
thousand troops, against the English fleet under the command
* Lord Mahon's History of England, Vol. VI., Chap. lviii.,p. 384.
Mr. Tucker remarks on this subject : " On the 3rd of November
D'Estaing sailed for the West Indies, and thus ended the costly and fruitless
expedition which bade fair to be decisive of the contest; and which failed first
by disasters from the elements, and then from misunderstandings in which
the interests of the common cause seem to have been sacrificed to paltry
personal feelings on both sides." (History of the United States Vol I
Chap, iii., p. 234.) ' * ''
t Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, V<^. II., Chap, xvi., p. 275.
CHAP. XXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 21
of Admiral Byron — much inferior in both men and metal ; but
the French admiral declined and evaded any general engage-
ment, though repeatedly provoked to it. " The British fleet
endeavoured in vain to compel the enemy to come to close
fight ; they avoided it with the utmost circumspection and
dexterity."*
It became indispensably necessary for Admiral Byron to
provide a powerful convoy to the merchant shipping now on
the eve of their departure for England, and whose cargoes were
of immense value. Under all the circumstances, Admiral
Byron determined to convoy the homeward trade with his
whole fleet, till it was out of danger of being followed by Count
D'Estaing or of falling in with M. de la Motte, who was on his
way from France to the French islands with a strong squadron.
During Admiral Byron's absence. Count D'Estaing directed an
attack to be made on the island of St. Vincent, the garrison of
which was very inconsiderable, and soon surrendered to the
superior strength of the French, assisted by a great multitude
of the Caribbee Indians, and who seized this opportunity of
revenging themselves for injuries inflicted upon them by the
English during the last French war.
In the meantime Count D'Estaing was still further reinforced
by the arrival of the squadron commanded by M. de la Motte.
His fleet now consisted of twenty-six ships of the line and twelve
frigates, and his land force amounted to ten thousand men.
With this powerful armament he sailed for the island of
Grenada, the strength of which consisted of about one hundred
and fifty regulars and three or four hundred armed inhabitants.
The garrison was compelled to yield to the prodigious
superiority of force against them, after a most heroic defence, in
* " Early in January, 1779, reinforcements under Admiral Byron trans-
ferred maritime superiority to the British ; and D'Estaing for six months
sheltered his fleet in the bay of Port Royal. At the end of June, Byron
having left St. Lucia to convoy a company of British merchant ships through
the passage, D'Estaing detached a force against St. Vincent, which, with the
aid of the oppressed and enslaved Caribs, was easily taken. At the same
time the Erench admiral made an attack on the island of Grenada, whose
garrison surrendered on the 4th of July, at discretion." (Bancroft, Vol. X.,
Chap, xiii., p. 295.)
22 THE LOYALISTS OF AMEKICA [cHAP. XXVni.
which no less than three hundred of the French were killed
and wounded.*
The complaints of the Americans of the failure of Count
D'Estaing's expedition to America, of his abandoning the
expedition against Long Island, of his leaving the coasts of the
Southern colonies unprotected and exposed, and proceeding to
the West Indies, reached the French Court, which sent instruc-
tions to Count D'Estaing enjoining him to return with all speed
to the assistance of the colonies. For this purpose he left the
West Indies on the 1st of September. Mr. Tucker remarks :
" General Lincoln (commander of the colonial forces in Caro-
lina) having informed Count D'Estaing that the British ships
had gone into port to repair the damages sustained in the late
engagement with his fleet in the West Indies, and that a fair
opportunity was presented of destroying the British army in
Georgia, with the co-operation of the French fleet, the Count
immediately left the West Indies, with twenty-two sail of the
line and eleven frigates. He had on board six thousand land
forces, and ai-rived so unexpectedly on the coast that a British
fifty -gun ship and three frigates fell into his hands. He then,
in conjunction with General Lincoln, planned an attack on the
town of Savannah.'i"
The arrangements for the attack having been made, the
whole French fleet came to anchor at the mouth of the Savannah
river on the 1st day of September. He was occupied ten days
* " Tw-o days' after the taking of Grenada," says Mr. Bancroft, " the fleet
of Byron arrived within sight of the French, and, though reduced in
number, sought a general close action, which his adversary knew how to
avoid." (History of the United States, Vol. X., Chap, siii., p. 295.)
t History of the United States, Vol. I., Chap, iii., p. 249.
" Count D'Estaing's intentions and his hopes were, as before, directed to
objects of the first magnitude. The first measure of the plan and contem-
plation was to expel the British forces out of Georgia, and to place that
province and the contiguous province of South Carolina, and in short all
the Southern colonies, on a footing of perfect security from any future
invasions by the British troops. After the accomplishment of this object,
he next proposed no less than a total deliverance of America from the terror
of the British arms. This was to be effected by the destrviction of the British
fleet at New York. The latter part of the plan he doubted not to accomplish
through the co-operation of the American army under Washington." (Dr.
Andrews' History of the Late War, Vol. III., Chap, xlv., pp. 308, 309.)
CHAP. XXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 23
in landing his troops and artillery ; on the 15th of September
a junction was formed between the French and General Lincoln,*
and with the utmost confidence of success.-f-
They determined to take the town by siege rather than by
storm in the first instance.j
On the 16th of September they demanded, in a very confi-
dent and haughty tone, the surrender of the town to the arms
of the King of France ; but General Prevost declined sur-
rendering on a general summons, and requested a specific
statement of the terms of it. The Count replied that it was
for the besieged to propose the terms. General Prevost re-
quested and obtained twenty-four hours' suspension of hos-
tilities to prepare his answer. Before the twenty-four hours
* " A junction being formed by the French and American forces, they
amounted together to between nine and ten thousand men. Count D'Estaing
had five thousand regulars, and near one thousand stout mulattos and
free negroes, well armed. The body of Americans that joined him under
the command of General Lincoln consisted of about two thousand at first,
but were soon augmented to twice that number.
" To oppose this formidable strength. General Prevost (the commander of
Savannah) had no more, altogether, than three thousand men ; but they were
such as continual experience had shown he could place the utmost dependence
on. Numbers were refugees (loyalists), whom resentment for the usage they
had received exasperated to a degree that rendered them desperate." — lb., p.
312.
t " As soon as the arrival of Count D'Estaing on the coast was known,
General Lincoln, with the army under his command, marched for the vicinity
of Savannah ; and orders were given for the militia of Georgia and South
Carolina to rendezvous near the same place. The British were equally
diligent in preparing for their defence. The American militia, flushed with
the hope of speedily expelling the British from their southern possessions,,
turned out with an alacrity which far surpassed their exertions in the
previous campaign." (Dr. Eamsay's History of the United States, Vol. II.,,
Chap, xvii., p. 302.)
.% " The French and the Americans encamped separately. Count D'Estaing;
thought it most prudent to keep them apart. He knew by experience how
apt they were to disagree ; and he hoped that, by acting asunder from each
other, a reciprocal emulation would be excited. It was agreed, accordingly,,
that each of them should carry on their respective approaches without
interference from the other side. This method was particularly agreeable
to the French, who, looking upon themselves as incomparably superior to the
Americans, did not choose to divide any honour with these, to which they
imagined that they alone were entitled." (Dr. Andrews' History of the-
Late War, Vol III., Chap, xlv., pp. 312, 313.)
24 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVIII.
had elapsed, Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland, with several hundred
men who had been stationed at Beaufort, made their way
through inland channels and swamps, and joined the royal
standard at Savannah ; and General Prevost gave his answer of
no surrender. The French and Americans, who formed a junc-
tion the evening after, resolved to besiege the town, and
consumed several days in preparing for it, while the works
of the garrison were hourly strengthened by great labour and
skill. From the 24th of September to the 4th of October a
heavy cannonade on both sides was kept up ; but the allied
army, finding that they could make little or no impression
on the works of the besieged, resolved on a bombardment, with
a stronger cannonading than ever. On the 4th of October the
besiegers opened on the town three batteries, with nine mortars,
thirty-seven pieces of cannon from the land side, and fifteen
from the water. The firing from these batteries lasted, with
little intermission, during five days ; but the damage they did
was confined mostly to the town, where some houses were '
destroyed and some women and children killed. Soon after
the commencement of the cannonade, General Prevost requested
permission to remove the women and children out of the town
to a place of safety ; but this request was refused in offensive
terms on the part of Count -D'Estaing, by the advice of General
Lincoln, on the pretext that a desire of secreting the plunder
lately taken from the South Carol inas was covered under
the veil of humanity, but the real reason was that the sur-
render of the town would be expedited by keeping the women
and children in it.*
* Count D'Estaing was afterwards so ashamed of this inhuman refusal, that
after the repulse of his assault upon the garrison he apologized for it, and
offered the permission requested, but which was no longer needed, and
therefore refused.
General Stedman, referring to this circumstance, says : " On tlie morning
of the 4th of October, the batteries of the besiegers having opened with
a discharge from fifty-three pieces of heavy cannon and fourteen mortars,
a request was made by General Prevost that the women and children mi^ht be
permitted to leave the town and embark on board vessels in the river which
should be placed under the protection of Count D'Estaing, and wait the issue of
the siege. But this proposal, dictated by humanity, was rejected with insult.
Fortunately, however, for the inhabitants as well as the garrison, although
an incessant cannonade from so many pieces of artillery was continued from th£
CHAP. XXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 25
Count D'Estaing, finding that his five days' cannonading made
no impression on the defensive works of the city, and his
officers remonstrating against his continuing to risk so valuable
a fleet on a dangerous coast, in the hurricane season, and at
so great a distance from shore that it might be surprised by
a British fleet, now completely repaired in the West Indies and
fully manned, he decided to assault the town. The attack
was commenced in three columns on the 9th, an hour before
sunrise.
" Though the besieged were prepared for the assault, and their
fire was very destructive, the assailants pressed on and planted
(for a few minutes) the standard of both nations on the walls ;
but the contest being still obstinately continued, the assailants
were brought to a pause by the fall of Count Pulaski (com-
manding an American corps), who received a mortal wound ;
and Major Glaziers, who commanded the garrison, rushing at
the head of a body of grenadiers and marines, drove back the
allied troops, who were ordered to retreat. The French lost
seven hundred men ; the Americans, two hundred and thirty-
four. The British garrison lost only fifty-five in killed and
wounded. On the 16th of October the siege was raised by the
Count, who thus for the third time failed in his co-operation
with the Americans, after the fairest- prospects of success."*
4th to the 9th of October, less injury was done to the houses in the town
than might have been expected ; few lives were lost, and the defences were
in no respect materially damaged." (Stedman's History of the American
War, Vol. II., Chap, xxx., p. 127.)
* Tucker's History of the United States, Vol. I., Chap, iii., p. 250.
This disastrous attack upon Savannah was followed by mutual recrimina-
tions between the French and American officers and soldiers.
" No good agreement, it has been said, subsisted between the French and
Americans from the commencement of the siege, and their mutual dislike
was now increased by disappointment. After the assault, the French could
no longer conceal their contempt for their new allies ; they styled them
'insurgents' in common conversation and even in written memorials."
(General Stedman's History of the American War, Vol, II., Chap, xxx.,
p. 132.)
" While the British troops were enjoying the satisfaction resulting from
the success that was due to their conduct and valour, the enemy was in
a condition of discontent and sullenness which had like to have terminated
fatally. The Americans could not conceal their disapprobation of the whole
proceedings of Count D'Estaing, nor he the contemptuous light in which he
26 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVIII.
Mr. Bancroft states the final struggle of this eventful contest,
and the results and effects of it on the Southern colonies, in the
following words :— " After an obstinate struggle of fifty-five
minutes to carry the redoubt, the assailants retreated before a
charge of grenadiers and marines, led gallantly by Maitland.
The injury sustained by the British was trifling ; the loss of the
Americans was about two hundred ; of the French, thrice as
many. The French withdrew their ships, and sailed for France ;
the patriots of Georgia who had joined them fled to the back-
woods or across the river.
" Lincoln repaired to Charleston, and was followed by what
remained of his army ; the militia of South Carolina returned
to their homes ; its continental regiments were melting away ;
and its paper money became so nearly worthless, that a bounty
of twenty-five hundred dollars for twenty-one months' service
had no attraction. The dwellers near the sea between Charles-
ton and Savannah were shaken in their allegiance, not knowing
held them. Reciprocal taunts and reproaches came to such a height between
both the officers and soldiers of either party, that it was once thought they
would have proceeded to actual violence.
" A motive which strongly influenced the Americans was the jealousy
they had conceived against the French commander, on account of ])is having
summoned General Prevost to swrrender to the arms o/i^rance, without including
those of the United States of America. They inferred from thence, that either
he considered them as unworthy of the honour of being mentioned conjointly
with the King of France, or that he meant to retain the province of Georgia
for that Crown in case of reduction. Whichever of the two was the meaning
of the French commander, it exposed him equally to the indignation of the
Americans.
" To this it may be added, that the inhuman refusal of the request of
General Prevost for a permission to the women and children to depart from
the town of Savannah during the siege, was now by the French attributed
to the Americans, whom they accused of brutality, and whose general, a
French officer of rank, was loaded with the coarsest and most injurious
appellations, in common with his other countrymen.
" From the day of their repulse, both the French and Americans abandoned
all further prosecution of the siege.
" In this manner was the province of Georgia cleared a third time of the
enemy, after the most sanguine expectations had been entertained by all
America that the reduction of this province would have been a preparatory
step to the expulsion of the British fleets and armies from every part of the
continent." (Dr. Andrews' History of the War, etc., Vol. III., Chap xlv
pp. 316—318.)
CHAP. XXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 27
where to find protection. Throughout the State the people
were disheartened, and foreboded desolation."*
I have given a more minute account of Count D'Estaing and
his abortive expeditions to America, and of his final attack
upon Savanah and its results ; how completely disappointed were
the American revolutionists thus far in their unnatural alliance
with France against England ; how little mutual respect or
good-will, and what quarrels occurred, whenever they came or
attempted to act together, whether at Boston, or Long Island,
or Charleston, or Savannah ; and how much feebler the army
and more gloomy the prospects of the Congress party were at
the end of 1779 than they were two years before, when the
alliance with France was formed. Dr. Ramsay well sums up
these events as follows :
•' The campaign of 1779 is remarkable for the feeble exer-
tions of the Americans. Accidental causes, which had pre-
viously excited their activity, had in a great measure ceased to
have influence. An enthusiasm for liberty made them compara •
tively disregard property and brave all dangers in the first years
of the war. The successes of their arms near the beginning of
1777, and the hope of capturing Burgoyne's army in the close
of it, together with the brisk circulation of a large quantity of
paper-money, in good credit, made that year both active and
decisive. The flattering prospects inspired by the alliance with
France in 1778 banished all fears of the success of the revolu-
tion, but the failure of every scheme of co-operation produced a
despondency of mind unfavourable to great exertions. Instead
of driving the British out of the country, as the Americans vainly
presumed, the campaigns of 1778 and 1779 terminated without
any direct advantage from the French fleet sent to their aid.
Expecting too much from their allies, and then failing in these
expectations, they were less prepared to prosecute the war with
their own resources than they would have been if D'Estaing
had not touched on their coast. Their army was reduced in its
numbers and badly clothed.
" In the first years of the war, the mercantile character was
lost in the military spirit of the times ; but in the progress of it
the inhabitants, cooling in their enthusiasm, gradually returned
* Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. X., Chap. xiii.,pp. 297, 298.
28 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVIII.
to their former habits of lucrative business. This made dis-
tinctions between the army and citizens, and was unfriendly to
military exertions. While several foreign events tended to the
embarrassment of Great Britain,* and indirectly to the establish-
ment of independence, a variety of internal causes relaxed the
exertions of the Americans, and for a time made it doubtful
whether they would ultimately be independent citizens or
conquered subjects. "-f"
Even a year later — "The military force," says Mr. Tucker,
"embarked in the beginning of 1781, to maintain the cause of
independence, is thus stated in (Chief Justice) Marshall's Life
of Washington : ' The Southern troops, from Pennsylvania to
Georgia, did not exceed three thousand men. Of the Northern
troops, twelve hundred had been detached to Virginia, under
La Fayette ; with these they amounted only to three thousand
effective men in April. The cavalry and artillery was less than
one thousand. With some small additions, the whole reached
four thousand men in May. They were ill supplied with cloth-
ing, and were seriously threatened with a want of provisions.
The quartermaster's department was without means of trans-
port," (Marshall, Vol. IV., p. 446).+
Such was the character and such the fruits of the alliance
with France during the first two years of its existence ; and
such was the state of the revolutionary army in 1780, and
which seems to have been largely owing to the incapacity and
ill conduct of the Congress itself, which had become degenerate
and corrupt — equal to that of any British Parliament, or of any
Provincial Legislature, under any Royal Governor.§
* " In the latter part of this year (1*779), Spain decided on joining France
in the war, anxious as she was to take the chance of recovering Gibraltar,
Jamaica, and the Floridas." (Tucker's History of the United States, Vol. I.,
Chap, iii., p. 251.)
Thus England had arrayed against her two of the most powerful Gov-
ernments, with the two most powerful fleets in Europe, besides the war in
America.
t Dr. Eamsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xvii., pp.
305, 306.)
J Tucker's History of the United States, Vol. I., Chap, iii., p. 282.
§ " There were never more than forty members present— often no more
than twenty. These small numbers, however, by no means insured harmony,
nor precluded violent and unseemly quarrels, rumours of which were not
CHAP. XXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 29
Abundant evidence can be adduced in proof and illustration
of this statement from the warmest partizans of Congress ; but
the testimony of Washington himself is ample and indisputable.
In the winter of 1778-9 he had to concert his measures with
Congress at Philadelphia, and he writes from thence as follows
to his friend Benjamin Harrison :
" If I were to be called upon to draw a picture of the times
and of men from what I have seen, heard, and in part known,
I should in one word say that idleness, dissipation, and
extravagance seem to have laid fast hold of them ; that
speculation, peculation, and an insatiable thirst for riches seem
to have got the better of every other consideration and of every
order of men ; that party disputes and personal quarrels are
the great business of the day ; whilst the momentous concerns
of an empire, a great and accumulating debt, ruined finances,
depreciated money, and want of credit, which in its consequence
is the want of everything, are but secondary considerations, and
postponed from day to day, and from week to week, as if our
aft'airs wore the most promising aspect. * * Our money is now
sinking fifty per cent, a day in this city, and I shall not be
surprised if in the course of a few months a total stop is put to
the currency of it ; and yet an assembly, a concert, a dinner, a
supper, that will cost three or four hundred pounds, will not
only take men from acting in this business, but from thinking
of it ; while a great part of the officers of our army, from
absolute necessity, are quitting the service. * * I have no
resentments, nor do I mean to point at particular characters.
This I can declare upon my honour, for I have every attention
paid me by Congress that I could possibly expect. * * But
slow in passing the Atlantic. ' For God's sake,' thus writes La Fayette from
France, ' For God's sake prevent the Congress from disputing loudly together.
Nothing so much hurts the interest and reputation of America.' (Letter of
La Fayette to Washington, June 12th, 1779.) Thus the object of conceal-
ment, unless, perhaps, for private purposes, was most imperfectly attained,
although, in name at least, the deliberations of Congress at this time were
secret. Historically, even the Journal which they kept gives little light as
to their true proceedings. An American gentleman, who has studied that
document with care, laments that it is painfuUy meagre, the object being
apparently to record as little as possible." (Life of President Eeed, by Mr.
William Reed, Vol. IL, p. 18.)
Lord Mahon's History of England, etc., Vol. VI., Chap. Iviii., pp. 420, 421.
30 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXVIII.
such is the picture which from my inmost soul I believe to be
true ; and I confess to you that I feel more real distress on
account of the present appearances of things, than I have done
at any time since the commencement of the dispute."*
Such is General Washington's own account of the character
and occupation of the Congress of the United States in the
third year of the revolutionary war, and in the second year of
their alliance with France — idleness, dissipation, extravagance,
speculation, peculation, avarice, party and personal quarrels,
dancing, feasting ; while the credit was reduced almost to
nothing, and the army neglected and suffering.-f-
* Letter to Benjamin Harrison, December 30th, 1778. Washington's
Writings, Vol. VI., p. 151, quoted in Lord Mahon's History, Vol. VI., Chap.
Iviii., pp. 419, 420.
t Dr. Ramsay, referring to this depreciation of the currency, says : " The
confiscation and sale of the property of Tories, for the most part, brought but
very little into the public treasury. The sales were generally made on credit,
and by the progressive depreciation, what was dear at the time of the pur-
chase, was very cheap at the time of payment. When this measure Avas first
adopted, little or no injustice resulted from it, for at that time the paper
bills were equal, or nearly equal, to gold or silver of the same nominal sum.
In the progress of the war, when depreciation took place, the case was
materially altered.
" The aged, who had retired from the scenes of active business to enjoy the
fruits of their industry, found their svibstance melting away to a mere pittance,
insufficient for their support. The widow who lived comfortably on the
bequests of a deceased husband, experienced a frustration of all his well-
meant tenderness. The laws of the country interposed and compelled her
to receive a shilling, where a pound was her due. The hapless orphan,
instead of receiving from the hands of an executor a competency to set out
in business, was obliged to give a final discharge on the payment of sixpence
in the pound." (Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap,
xviii., pp. 315, 316.)
"The paper-money," says Lord Mahon, "had gradually fallen to one-
twentieth, to one- thirtieth, nay, in some cases to not less than one-hundredth
of its nominal value ! But perhaps one practical instance may make this
case clearer. In December of this year (1779), and in the State of Mary-
land, an English officer received an innkeeper's bill, which in his Travels he
has printed at full length, amounting in paper-money to £732 and some
shillings ; and this bill he paid in gold with four guineas and a half."
(Anbury's Travels, Vol. II., p. 492.) (Lord Mahon's History, etc., Vol. VI,
Chap. Iviii., p. 416.)
General Washington thus describes this state of things in regard to everv
man in the public service: " What officers can bear the weight of prices that
CHAP. XXVIIl.] AND THEIR TIMES. 31
Such was the progress of the war ; such the failure of the ex-
peditions of the French alliance ; such the state of the revolution-
ary army, and of the public credit ; and such the degenerate
character and proceedings of Congress and its surroundings in
the beginning of 1780 — the fifth year of the civil war.
every necessary article is now got to ] A rat, in the shape of a horse, is not
to be bought at this time for less than two hundred pounds, nor a saddle
under thirty or forty pounds ; boots twenty, and shoes and other articles in
like proportion. How is it possible, therefore, for officers to stand this with-
out an increase of pay ? And how is it possible to advance their pay when
flour is selling at different places from five to fifteen pounds per hundred-
weight, hay from ten to thirty pounds, and beef and other essentials in like
proportion ?" The depreciation still proceeding, Washington a few months
afterwards says that " a waggon load of money will now scarcely purchase a
waggon load of provisions." (Letters to Governor Morris, October 4th, 1778 ;
and to the President of the Congress, April 23rd, 1779.)
32 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXIX.
CHAPTER XXIX.
1780 — A Year of Weakness and Disaster to the American Cause,
AND OF Success to the British Arms.
The year 1780 was inauspicious for the revolutionary
cause, but auspicious for the English. The financial embarrass-
ments arising from the depreciation of the paper-money
engaged the anxious deliberations of Congress,* and Washing-
ton's army was by no means able to cope with the northern
division of the English army."f-
* " The commisgaries, greatly in. debt, had neither money nor credit, and
starvation began to stare the soldiers in the face. To support his army,
Washington was again obliged to resort to the harsh expedient of levying
contributions on the surrounding country. Each county was called upon for
a certain quantity of flovir and meat ; but as the civil authorities took the
matter of supply in hand, for which certificates were given by the com-
missaries on the appraisement of two magistrates, the use of force did not
become necessary." (Hildreth's Histoiy of the United States, Vol. III.,
Chap, xi., p. 301.)
t " Washington's entire force scarcely exceeded ten thousand men, a
number not equal to the (British) garrison of New York ; and even of these
a considerable number were militia drafts, whose terms of service were
fast expiring." — 76., p. 303.
But though New York was in possession of the British, and strongly
garrisoned, apprehensions were entertained of attacks upon the several
English garrison posts in the State from invasions of marauding parties of
the revolutionary army, from facilities of approach on account of the freezing
over of all tlie rivers from the extreme severity of this winter. It is sino-ular
that while Benjamin Franklin was leader of the Revolutionists, and now
United States Minister to France, his son was one of the leaders of the
Loyalists. " It was now," says Mr. Hddreth, " that the ' Board of Associated
Loyalists ' was formed, of which Franklin, late Royal Governor of New
CHAP. XXIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 33
But La Fayette, now returned from a recent visit to France,
during which he had obtained from the French Court a loan of
money and reinforcements of naval and land forces, Washing-
ton contemplated the recovery of New York, which had long
been a favourite object with him. The French squadron of
seven sail of the line, and five frigates and transports, under the
command of Chevalier de Ternay, arrived at Newport harbour,
Long Island, on the 10th July, having on board six thousand
troops, under the command of Count de Rochambeau, who, in
order to prevent the repetition of previous disputes, was
directed to put himself under Washington's orders ; and on
all points of precedence and etiquette — this was the first
division of the promised reinforcements from France — the
French officers were to give place to the Americans. Washing-
ton and Count de Rochambeau agreed upon an attack on New
York. The British had in New York only four ships of the
line and a few frigates ; but three days after the arrival of the
French squadron. Admiral Graves reached New York with six
ships of the line. Having now the naval superiority, the
British, instead of waiting to be attacked, proposed to attack
the French at Newport, and for which purpose Sir Henry
Clinton embarked with six thousand men ; but as Sir Henry
Clinton and Admiral Arbuthnot could not agree on a plan of
operations, the British troops were disembarked. The fleet pro-
ceeded to blockade the French ships, and the revolutionary army
was obliged to remain at Newport for their protection. " News
presently arrived that the F.rench second division was detained
at Brest, blockaded there by another British squadron. Instead
of being an assistance, the French auxiliaries threatened to be a
burden; three thousand troops and five hundred militia were kept
under arms at Newport to assist in guarding the French ships.
Thus a third time — as it seemed, almost a sort of fatality — the
attempt at French co-operation proved a failure."*
Sir Henry Clinton, on leaving the Count D'Estaing after his
defeat at Savannah, had left the coast of Georgia with his fleet
Jersey, released by exchange from his tedious confinement in Connecticut,
was made president. Washington, however, was in no condition to under-
take an attack, and the winter passed off with few skirmishes." (Hildreth's
History of the United States, Vol. III., Chap, xi., p. 303.)
* Ih., pp. 311, 312.
VOL. II. — 3
34 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXIX.
for France, determined to extend his military operations south,
with a view o£ completing the submission of the Southern
States. Leaving the garrison of New York under the command
of General Knyphausen, he proceeded in person on an expedi-
tion against South Carolina, and besieged Charleston, the capital.
Information had been obtained at Charleston of Sir Henry
Clinton's intention two months before the arrival of his fleet
and troops, and the city was fortified on all sides, and on its
redoubts, lines, and batteries were mounted eighty pieces of
cannon and mortars. The commander, General Lincoln, had a
force of 7,000 men of all denominations under arms, and was ex-
pecting large reinforcements. The army of Sir Henry Clinton
was increased by a reinforcement of 3,000 men — making in
the whole about 9,000 men under his command.
At the commencement of the siege, the Governor of the State,
by the extraordinary powers conferred upon him by the Legis-
lature, issued a proclamation requiring such of the militia as
were regularly drafted, and all the inhabitants and owners of
jn^operty in the town, to repair to the American standard and
join the garrison immediately, under pain of confiscation.
The siege commenced the 3rd of April, and was protracted
to the 11th of May. The terms of capitulation proposed by
each party in the earlier part of the siege were mutually declined.
Cannonading continued on each side until the British opened
batteries on the third parallel, played upon the American garri-
son with cannon and mortars at a distance of less than a
hundred yards, advanced within, twenty-five yards of the
American works, and were ready for making a general assault
by land and water when, on the 11th of May, " a great number
of citizens addressed General Lincoln in a petition, expressing
their acquiescence in the terms which Sir Henry Clinton had
offered, and requested his acceptance of them. On the recep-
tion of this petition. General Lincoln wrote to Sir Henry, and
offered to accept the terms before proposed. The royal
commanders, wishing to avoid the extremity of storming the
city, and unwilling to press to unconditional submission an
enemy whose friendship they wished to conciliate, returned a
favourable answer. A capitulation was signed on the 12th of
May, and Major General Leslie took possession of the town the
CHAP. XXIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 35
next day. Upwards of 400 pieces of artiilery were surrendered.*
By the articles of capitulation, the garrison was to march out of
town and deposit their arms in front of the works, but the
drums were not to beat a British march, nor the colours to
be uncased. The continental troops and seamen were to keep
their baggage and remain prisoners of war till exchanged.
The militia were to be permitted to return to their respective
homes, as prisoners on parole ; and while they adhered to their
parole, were not to be molested by the British troops in person
or property. The inhabitants, of all conditions, were to be
considered as prisoners on parole, and to hold their property on
the same terms with the militia. The officers of the army and
navy were to retain their servants, swords, pistols, and baggage
unsearched. They were permitted to sell their horses, but not
to remove them. A vessel was allowed to proceed to Phila-
delphia with General Lincoln's despatches unopened."-f-
Shortly after the capture of Charleston, Sir Henry Clinton
embarked for New York with the principal part of his army ;.|
* " In the siege, tlie British lost seventy-six killed and one hundred and
eighty-nine wounded ; the Americans about an equal number. The pri-
soners, exclusive of sailors, amounted to five thousand six hundred and
eighteen, counting all the adult males of the town." (Tucker's History of
the United States, Vol. I., Chap, lii., p. 253.)
t Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xx., pp. 337,
338.
Yet in the face of the facts above stated by Dr. Ramsay, who was an
officer on General Washington's staff, and afterwards member of Congress,
where he had access to the official documents and letters from which he
compiled his history, Mr. Bancroft makes the following statements and
remarks : " The value of the spoil, which was distributed by English and
Hessian commissaries of captures, amounted to about £300,000 sterling,
so that the dividend of a major-general exceeded 4,000 guineas. There was
no restraint on private rapine ; the silver plate of the planters was carried
off ; all negroes that had belonged to the rebels were seized, even though
they had themselves sought an asylum within the British lines ; and at one
embarkation 2,000 were shipped to a market in the West Indies. British
officers thought more of amassing fortunes than of reuniting the empire.
The patriots were not allowed t^o appoint attorneys to manage or sell their
estates, a sentence of confiscation hung over the whole land, and British
protection was granted only in return for the unconditional promise of
loyalty." (Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. X., Chap, xiv.,
pp. 305, 306.)
X " Sir Henry Clinton, having left about 4,000 men for Southern service,
36 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXIX.
but before his departure he performed several important acts
both as Royal Commissioner and as Commander-in-Chief of the
army.
After the surrender of the capital, it was proposed to awe the
disaffected and secure the universal submission of the people
by sending out three expeditions.
" One expedition was sent by Clinton up the Savannah, to
encourage the loyal and reduce the disaffected in the neighbour-
hood of Augusta ; another proceeded for like purpose to the
district of Ninety-Six, where Williamson surrendered his post
and accepted British protection. A third and larger party,
under Cornwallis, moved across the Santee towards Camden."*
These expeditions rather weakened than strengthened the
influence of the British cause, as compulsion rather than con-
ciliation was employed to re-establish British supremacy ; and
embarked early in June with the main army for New York. On his
departure the command devolved on Lieutenant-General Cornwallis." (Dr.
Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xx., p. 341.)
" They saw South Carolina apparently won back to the royal cause, and
with some probability that North Carolina would follow the example. But
at this crisis intelligence reached Sir Henry Clinton that the Americans
upon the Hudson (under the command of General Washington) were ozi the
point of receiving considerable succours ; that a French fleet sent to their
aid, with several French regiments on board, might soon be expected off the
New England coasts. Sir Henry deemed it his duty to provide in person
for the safety of his principal charge. In the first days of June he accord-
ingly re-embarked for New York, with a portion of his army ;- leaving, how-
ever, about 4,000 men vmder Lord Cornwallis's command. The instructions
given to Lord Cornwallis were to consider the maintenance of Charleston,
and in general of South Carolina, as his main and indispensable objects ;
but consistently with these, he was left at liberty to make ' a solid move,' as
it was termed, into North Carolina, if he judged it proper or found it
possible." (Lord Mahon's History, etc., .Vol. VII., Chap. Ixii., p. 70.)
On the eve of leaving Charleston for New York, Sir Henry reported to
the British Colonial Minister, Lord Germaine : " The inhabitants from every
quarter declare their allegiance to the King, and offer their services in arms.
There are few men in South Carolina who are not either our prisoners or
in arms with us."
* Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. X., Chap, xiv., p. 306.
" The universal panic consequent on the capture of Charleston had sus-
pended all resistance to the British army. The men of Beaufort, of Ninety-
Six, and of Camden, had capitulated under the promise of security. They
believed that they were to be treated as neutrals or as prisoners on parole.
There remained to them no possil5ility of flight with their families ; and if
CHAP. XXIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 37
the proclamations and orders issued by Sir Henry Clinton before
his departure for New York, defeated rather than promoted
the objects intended by them.*
After issuing his proclamation (for the purport of which see
previous note), Sir Henry Clinton took his departure, with the
major part of his army, for New York, leaving Lord Cornwallis
in command with four thousand troops. -f-
they were inclined to take up arms, there was no American army around
which they could rally." (Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. X.,
Chap, xiv., p. 307.)
" No organized American force was now left in either of the Carolina?.
The three most Southern States had not a battalion in the field, nor were the
next three much better provided. The Virginia line had been mostly
captured at Charleston, or dispersed in subsetpent engagements. The same
was the case with the North Carolina regiments. The recent battle of
Camden had reduced the Maryland line to a single regiment — the Delaware
line to a single company." (Hildreth's History of the United States, Vol.
III., Chap, xi., p. 316.)
* " On the 22nd of May, confiscation of property and other punishments
were denounced against all who should thereafter oppose the King in arms,
or hinder any one from joining his forces. On the 1st of June, a procla-
mation by the Commissioners Clinton and Arbuthnot, offered pardon to the
penitent on their immediate return to allegiance ; to the loyal, the promise
of their former political immunities, including freedom from taxation, except
by their own Legislature. This policy of moderation might have familiar-
ized the Carolinians once more to the British Government ; but the procla-
mation was not communicated to Cornwallis — so that when, three weeks
later, two leading men, one of whom had been in a high station, and both
principally concerned in the rebellion, went to that officer to surrender
themselves under its provisions, he could only answer that he had no know-
ledge of its existence.
" On the 3rd of June (the day of his departure from Charleston), Clinton,
by a proclamation which he alone signed, cut up British authority in
Carolina by the roots. He required all the inhabitants of the province, even
those outside of Charleston, ' who were now prisoners on parole,' to take an
active part in securing the royal government. ' Should thej^ neglect to
return to their allegiance,' so ran the proclamation, ' they will be treated as
rebels to the government of the King.' He never reflected that many who
accepted protection from fear or convenience, did so in the expectation
of living in a state of neutrality, and that they might say, ' If we must fight,
let us fight on the side of our friends, of our countrymen of America.'"
(Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. X., Chap, xiv., pp. 307, 308.)
t " Earl (afterwards Marquis) Cornwallis was born in 1738. Early in life
he had embraced the military profession, which he pursued with undeviating
honour, though variable success. In him the want of any shining talents
38 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXIX.
" Lord Cornwallis, considering South Carolina as entirely re-
annexed to Great Britain, would admit of no neutrality among
the inhabitants ; but insisted on their taking the oath of alle-
giance, which, however, was generally taken with reluctance by
the people of the lower country. This part of the State was
still further alienated by the" licentious and plundering habits
of the British soldiers over a conquered country, and by the
seduction of many of the slaves from their masters."*
There can be no justification of Lord Cornwallis's policy ;
but there were some mitigating circumstances that palliate
the severities which he inflicted. Among those who had been
taken prisoners at the capture of Charleston, and professed
loyalty, was, as Lord Mahon says, " One Lisle, who had not only
taken the oath of allegiance, but accepted military rank as a
King's officer ; waited just long enough to supply his battalion
with clothes, arms, and ammunition from the royal stores, and
then quietly led them back to his old friends. Highly
incensed at such signal acts of treachery as Lisle's, Lord
Cornwallis had recourse to some severe orders in return.
The penalty of death was denounced against all militiamen
was in a great measure supplied by probity, by punctuality, by steady
courage, by vigilant attention to his duties. In 1776, on the Declaratory
Bill, he had shown his conciliatory temper to the colonies ; denying, with
Lord Camden and only three Peers besides, any right we had to tax them
while tliey remained unrepresented in the House of Commons. When,
however, the war broke forth, he acted solelj"^ as became a soldier. Under
Lord Cornwallis was now serving a young officer of no common spirit and
daring, destined, like himself, to attain, at another period, the highest olfice
that an Englishman out of England can fill — the office of Governor-General
of India. This was Francis Lord Rawdon, subsequently better known, first
as Earl of Moira, and then as Marquis of Hastings. In the ensuing battle
of Camden, where he held a second rank, he played a distinguished part ;
he was not yet twenty-six years of age, and he had already gained renown
five years before, in the battle of Bunker's Hill." (Lord Mahon's History,
etc., Vol. VII., Chap. Ixii., p. 71.)
* Tucker's History of the United States, Vol. I., Chap, iii., p. 254.
" There was no longer any armed American force in South Carolina ; and
Lord Cornwallis resorted to energetic means of preventing disaffection. All
those who were found in arms after they had submitted to British protec-
tion were considered as having forfeited their lives, and several of them
were hung on the spot. But these severities, instead of their intended effect,
produced a strong reaction." — Ih., p. 256.
CHAP. XXIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 39
who, after serving with the English, went off to the insurgents.
Several of the prisoners in the battle of Camden, men taken
with arms in their hands and British protections in their pockets,
were hanged. Other such examples were made at Augusta and
elsewhere. Some who had been living on their parole at
Charleston, and who, in spite of that parole, carried on a secret
correspondence with their insurgent countrymen, were shipped
off to St. Augustine. A proclamation was issued, sequestering
the estates of those who had been the most forward to oppose
the establishment of the royal authority within the province.
Perhaps these measures exceeded the bounds of justice ; certainly
they did the bounds of policy. This was shown by the fatal
event, when, on the overthrow of the royalist cause in South
Carolina, the measures of Lord Cornwallis became the plea for
other executions and for every act of oppression that resent-
ment could devise."
" Within the more limited sphere of his own command, Lord
Rawdon had recourse to, or at the very least announced, some
measures still more severe, and far less to be justified. In a letter
to one of his officers, which was intercepted, we find, for
example, what follows : ' I will give the inhabitants ten guineas
for the head of every deserter belonging to the volunteers of
Ireland ; and five guineas only if they bring him in alive.' No
amount of provocation or of precedent in his enemies, no degree
of youthful ardour in himself, are at all adequate to excuse
these most blamable words. When, however, he was called upon
to vindicate them, Lord Rawdon declared that many of his threats
were meant only ' to act on the fears and prejudices of the
vulgar,' and by no means to be carried into practical effect."*
During the latter part of the year there were various
skirmishes and battles between volunteer parties of Indepen-
dents, under such leaders as Sumpter and Clarke, and detach-
ments of the British army, with various success, but nothing
which aftected the supremacy of the royal cause, though the
moral influence of it was widely weakened by the arbitrary
policy of the British commanders and the conduct of the British
troops. The prospects of the revolution were very gloomy ,-|-
■* Lord Mahon's History, etc., Vol. VII., Chap. Ixii., pp. 75, 76.
t " While the war raged in South Carolina, the campaign of 1780, in the
40 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXIX.
and its leaders were much disheartened. In these circum-
stances of depression and despondency, an earnest appeal was
made to France for men and money,* and the transactions
following show that the appeal was not made in vain, and
that French ships and troops were the main instruments in
deciding the battle which was followed by the acknowledg-
ment of American Independence.-f-
Mr. Hildreth, referring to the close of this year, says : " So
far, indeed, as related to America, Great Britain had good
reason to be satisfied with the late campaign. Georgia was
entirely subdued, and the royal government re-established. The
Northern States, was barren of important events. The campaign of 1780
passed away in the Northern States, as has been related, in successive
disappointments and reiterated distresses. The country was exhausted ;
the continental currency expiring. The army, for want of subsistence, was
kept inactive and brooding over its calamities. While these disasters were
openly menacing the ruin of the American cause, treachery was silently
undermining it. . A distinguished officer (General Arnold) engaged, for a
stipulated sum of money, to betray into the hands of the British an impor-
tant post committed to his care," etc. (Dr. Ramsay's History of the United
States, Vol. II., Chap, xxiv., pp. 364—377.)
* " Congress could do nothing, and confessed that it could do nothing.
' We have required,' thus they wrote to the States on the 15th of January,
1781, ' aids of men, provisions and money ; the States alone have authority to
execute.' Since Congress itself made a public confession of its powerlessnegs,
nothing remained but to appeal to France for rescue, not from a foreign
enemy, but from the evils consequent on its own want of 'government. ' If
France lends not a speedy aid,' wrote General Greene from the South to her
Minister in Philadelphia, 'I fear the country will be for ever lost.' It was
therefore resolved for the moment to despatch to Versailles, as a special
minister, one who had lived in the midst of the ever-increasing distresses of
the army, to set them before the Government of France in the most striking
light. The choice fell on the younger Laurens, of South Carolina. To this
agent Washington confided a statement of the condition of the country ; and
with dignity and candour avowed that it had reached a crisis out of which it
could not rise by its own unassisted strength. To Franklin he wrote in the
same strain ; and La Fayette addressed a like memorial of ripe wisdom to
Vergennes " (the French Minister for Foreign Affairs). (Bancroft's History
of the United States, Vol. X., Chap., xix., pp. 417, 418.)
" Scarce any one of the States had as yet sent an eighth part of its quota
into the field ; and there was no prospect of a glorious offensive campaign,
unless their generous allies should help them with money, and with a fleet
strong enough to secure the superiority at sea." — lb., p. 425.
t It was in the latter part of this year, 1780, that the treachery of General
Arnold and the melancholy tragedy of Major Andre's execution took place.
CHAP. XXIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 41
possession of Charleston, Augusta, Ninety-Six, and Camden,
supported by an army in the field, secured entire control over
all the wealthy parts of South Carolina. North Carolina was
full of Tories, anxiously awaiting the approach of Cornwallis.
The three Southern States were incapable of helping them-
selves, and those further north, exhausted and penniless, were
little able to send assistance. It seemed as if the promises so
often made by Lord George Germaine's American correspon-
dents were now about to be fulfilled, and the rebel colonies to
sink beneath the accumulated pressure of this long-protracted
struggle.*
Thus, at the close of 1780, the military conflicts were almost
invariably successful on the side of the British ; the resources of
the revolutionists in both money and men were exhausted, and
their hopes of success utterly extinguished without foreign aid.
But though the British were successful on the fields of battle,
they everywhere lost in the confidence, esteem, and affections of
the people, even of the Loyalists. Yet the prospects of the war
party of independence were gloomy indeed. General Washing-
ton felt that some great achievement was necessary to revive
the hopes of his fellow-countrymen, and save from' dissolution
his daily decreasing army. His only hope was in aid from
France. His words were :
"Without an immediate, ample, and efficacious succour in
money, we may make a feeble and expiring effort in our next
campaign, w all probability the period of our opposition.
Next to a loan in money, a constant naval superiority on
these coasts is the object the most interesting."
* Hildreth's Histoiy of the United States, Vol. III., Chap, xli., p. 331.
" Though British conquests had rapidly succeeded each other, yet no advan-
tages accrued to the victors. The minds of the people vrere unsubdued, or
rather were alienated from every idea of returning to their former allegiance.
Such was their temper, that the expense of retaining them in subjection
would have exceeded all the profits of the conquest. British garrisons kept
down open resistance, in the vicinity of the places where they were estab-
lished ; but as soon as they were withdrawn and the people left to them-
selves, a spirit of revolt hostile to Great Britain always displayed itself ;
and the standard of independence, whenever it was prudently raised, never
wanted followers among the active and spirited part of the community."
(Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xx., p. 363.)
4Z THE LOYALISTS OF AMEBICA [CHAP. XXX.
CHAPTER XXX,
The French and Congress Allies in 1781 Recover Virginia-
Surrender OF Lord Cornwallis — Results.
Under the adverse circumstances and gloom which attended
and closed the year 1780, as stated in the preceding chajjter,
Washington felt the necessity of doing something bold and
great to revive the confidence of his countrymen and arrest the
decline of his army.
Under these circumstances, a campaign of operations was
devised and agreed upon by Washington and the commander
of the French troops. The centres of British power in America
were the army of about ten thousand men in New York, under
the immediate command of Sir Henry Clinton, who was, indeed,
Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in North America; and
secondly, the army of Virginia, about seven ths^usand men,
under the command of Earl Cornwallis; and thirdly, the gar-
rison of Charleston, South Carolina, under the command of
Lord Rawdon ; Savannah, the capital of Georgia, was also
occupied by a British garrison. Washington's plan was to pre-
tend an attack upon New York, but to make a real attack upon
the army of Virginia, with the view of extinguishing British
power in the Southern States. So well was the appearance of an
intended attack upon New York kept up, that Sir Henry
Clinton made all needful preparations for its defence, and
actually ordered Lord Cornwallis to send a detachment of his
men to New York to strengthen its defence; but after their
embarkation for that purpose the order was countermanded,
and Lord Cornwallis was allowed to retain them. Nothing
could be more complete than the deception practised upon Sir
CHAP. XXX.] AND THPZIR TIMES. 43
Henry Clinton ; nor did he suspect the real intention of the
allied armies until they had crossed the Hudson and were on
their way, through the Jerseys, Pennyslvania, and Maryland, to
Virginia.*
" In the latter end of August," says Dr. Ramsay, " the
American army began their march to Virginia from the neigh-
bourhood of New York. . Washington had advanced as far as
Chester before he received information of the arrival of De
Grasse. The French troops marched at the same time, for the
same place. In the course of this summer they passed through
all the extensive settlements which lie between Newport and
Yorktown. It seldom if ever happened before, that an army
led through a foreign country at so great a distance from their
own, among a people of different principles, customs, language,
and religion, behaved with so much regularity. In their march
to Yorktown they had to pass through five hundred miles of a
country abounding in fruit, and at a time when the most
delicious productions of nature, growing on and near the public
highways, presented both opportunity and temptation to gratify
* It appears, however, that in the first consultation, which " took place at
Weathersfield, between Generals Washington, Knox, and Dn Portail on the
part of the Americans, and Count de Eochambeau and the Chevalier
Chastelhix on the part of the French, it was agreed to lay siege to New York
in concert with the French fleet, which was to arrive on the coast in the
month of August. Washington addressed letters to the executive officers
of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey, requiring
them to fill up their battalions, and to have their quotas of six thousand
two hundred militia in readiness within a week after the time they might
be called for. But all these States not adding five hundred men to Wash-
ington's army, Sir Henry Clinton having received a reinforcement of three
thousand Germans, and intelligence having been received that Count de
Grasse, with a French fleet of twenty-eight ships and seven thousand troops
(besides seamen), had sailed for the Chesapeake, Washington and Count de
Eochambeau changed their plan of operations and determined to proceed to
Virginia, and, in combination with the French fleet and soldiers, to capture
the army under the command of Earl Cornwallis in Virginia. The appear-
ance of an intention to attack New York was nevertheless kept up. While
this deception was played off, the allied army crossed the North Eiver on
August 24th, and passed on by tlie way of Philadephia through tlie inter-
mediate country to Yorktown, Virginia. An attempt to reduce the British
force in Virginia promised success with more expedition, and to secure
an object of nearly equal importance to the reduction of New York.'>
(Eamsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xxv., pp. 448 — 451.)
44 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXX.
their -appetites, yet so complete was tbeir discipline, that in
this long march scarce an instance could be produced of a
peach or an apple being taken without the consent of the
inhabitants."*
On the 14th of September, Washington and De Rochambeau,
in advance of their armies and with their respective staffs of
officers, arrived at Williamsburg ; and with Generals Chastellux,
Du Portail, and Knox, visited Count de Grasse on board his
famous ship, the Ville de Paris, and agreed on the plan ,of
operations against Earl Cornwallis at Yorktown, on York river,
to which the allied armies at once proceeded, for the purpose
of besieging it. On the 1st day of October, General Washing-
ton was able to report to the President of Congress that the
investment of the place was completed. " Gloucester (on the
opposite side of the river, not a mile wide there), which was
held by Colonel Dundas, w^s beleaguered by some Virginian
troops, and by the French legion of the Duke de Lauzun.
Yorktown, where Cornwallis in person, and with his main
force, commanded, saw to his left the division of La Fayette,
and to his right the division of St. Simon. Other bodies of
troops- filled the space between them, while Washington and
Rochambeau fixed their posts near together, towards the centre.
They brought up fifty pieces of cannon, for the most part
heavy, by aid from the French ships, as also sixteen mortars,
and they lost no time in commencing their first parallel against
the town.-f- By the 9th the first parallel was completed, when
the town and its defences were cannonaded and shelled.
Within another week a second parallel was completed within
* Dr. Ramsay'.s History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xxv., pp.
450, 451.
t Lord Mahon's History of England, etc., Vol. VII., Chap. Ixiv., p. 172.
" On the other hand, Lord Cornwallis is admitted to have shown most
undaunted resolution. The officers under him, and the troops, German and
English, all did their duty well. For some weeks they had laboured hard,
and unremittingly, in raising their defences ; and they were now prepared
with equal spirit to maintain their half-completed works. But besides the
enemy without, they had another within — an epidemic sickness, that
stretched many hundreds helpless in their pallet-beds. Nor could they
hinder Washington from completing his first parallel and opening his fire
upon them in the evening of the 9th of October. For two days the fire was
incessant from heavy cannon, and from mortars and howitzers, throwing
CHAP. XXX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 45
three hundred yards of the defences, two redoubts stormed and
taken — one by the French and the other by the Americans — and
the further defence of the town rendered impossible.
Down to this time, the loth of October, Lord Cornwallis had
expected reinforcements of ships and troops from New York ;*
but he now despaired of aid from that quarter, and attempted
to escape with his army in the night across the river, which
was prevented by a storm, when the only alternative left him
was to surrender on the best terms he could obtain. On the
morning of the l7th he sent a flag of truce to Washington,
proposing a cessation of arms, and a treaty for the capitulation
of his post. Hostilities ceased ; the terms of surrender were
discussed and agreed upon on the 18th by four commissioners,
two field officers being named on each side. The army, and all
that belonged to it, was svirrendered to Washington ; and the
ships and seamen to Count de Grasse " (Tucker).
" All the artillery and public stores in the two forts, together
with the shipping and boats in the two harbours, were to be
surrendered by the English. On the other hand, private pro-
shells in showers on the town, until, says Cornwallis, all our guns on the
left were silenced, our works much damaged, and our loss of men considerahle.
By these shells, also, the Charon, a ship of forty-four guns, together with
three British transports in the river, were set in flames and consumed." — lb.,
p. 173.
* Before the investment of Yorktown, Lord Cornwallis sent a despatch to
Sir Henry Clinton, informing him of the delicacy and danger of his situation,
and requesting reinforcements. On the evening of the 29th of September,
Lord Cornwallis was cheered by the arrival of an express, bringing despatches
from Sir Henry Clinton, dated the 24th, informing him that by the 5th of •
October a fleet of twenty-three sail of the line, three of which were three-
deckers, with 5,000 men, rank and file, would start for his assistance. The
auxiliary forces at New York were ready 'and eager to depart by the 5th of
October ; but the ships were delayed by the slowness and obstinacy of
Admiral Arbuthnot. -Sir Henry Clinton writes ; " We had the misfortune
to see almost every succeeding day produce some naval obstruction or other
to protract our departure ; and I am sorry to add, that it was the afternoon
of the 19th before the fleet was fairly at sea. This was the day of Lord
Cornwallis's capitulation. Five days afterwards the fleet with the 5,000
troops arrived oft" the Chesapeake, when they received the news of the sur-
render of Lord Cornwallis, and sailed back to New York. Had these
auxiliary forces started from New York at the time promised, the siege
• of Yorktown would have been raised, the allied army defeated, and Lord
Cornwallis and his little army would have been victors instead of prisoners,"
46 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXX.
perty. of every kind was to be respected by the Americans and
French. The garrisons of York and Gloucester were to march
out with the same honours of war as had been granted by
Sir Henry Clinton at Charleston ; the land forces to remain
prisoners of the United States, and the naval forces prisoners
of France. The soldiers were to be kept in Virginia, Mary-
land, or Pennsylvania, and as much by regiments as possible.
The general staff and other officers not left with the troops to
be permitted to go to New York, or to Europe, on parole."*
The battle of Yorktown, and the surrender of Lord Corn-
wallis to the arms of the French and the Americans, may be
regarded as the last battle of importance of the civil war in
America. American writers and orators are fond of saying
that here was brought face to face on the battle-field the
strength of Old England and Young America, and the latter
prevailed. No statement can be more unfounded, and no boast
more groundless than this. England, without an ally, was at
war with three kingdoms — France, Spain, and Holland — the
most potent naval and military powers of Europe ; while were
also arrayed against her, by an "armed neutrality," Russia,
* Lord Mahon's History of England, etc., Vol. VII., Chap. Ixiv., pp. 177,
178.
" The otficers were to retain their side arms and private property of every
kind, but all property obviously belonging to inhabitants of the United
States to be subject to be reclaimed ; the soldiers to be supplied with the
same rations as were allowed to soldiers in the service of Congress. Corn-
wallis endeavoured to obtain permission for the British and German troops
to return to their respective countries, under no other restrictions than an
engagement not to serve against France or America. He also tried to obtain
an indemnity for those of the inhabitants who had joined him ; but he was
obliged to recede from the former, and also to consent that the loyalists in his
camp should be given up to the unconditional mercy of their countrymen.
His lordship, nevertheless, obtained (from Washington) permission for the
Bonetta sloop of war to pass unexamined to New York. This gave an
opportunity of screening such of the loyalists as were most obnoxious to the
Americans." (Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap.
XXV., pp. 454, 455.)
" The regular troops of France and America, employed in this siege, con-
sisted of about 7,000 of the former (besides ships and seamen), and 5,500 of
the latter ; and they were assisted by about 4,000 mUitia. The troops of
every kind that stirrendered prisoners of war were about 7,000 ; but so great
was the number of the sick and wounded, that there were only 3,800 capable
of bearing arms."— /6., p. 455.
CHAP. XXX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 47
Prussia, Denmark, and Sweden. England was armed to the
teeth for the defence of her own shores against threatened
invasion, while her navies were maintaining in sundry battles
the honour of the British flag on three seas.
A small part only of the British land and naval forces was
on the coast of America ; yet there were garrisons at Savannah
and Charleston, and a much larger military force at New York,
under the command of Sir Henry Clinton, than that of York-
town, under Lord Cornwallis. In the following campaign the
English fleet was victorious over the French fleet in the West
Indies, capturing the great ship Ville de Paris, and taking Count
de Grasse himself prisoner. In the siege of Yorktown there
were about 18,000 of the allied army of French and Ameri-
cans, besides ships of the line and sailors, while the effective
men under command of Lord Cornwallis amounted to less than
4,000. It was a marvel of skill and courage that with an army
so small, and in a town so exposed and so incapable of being
strongly fortified, and against an allied force so overwhelming,
Lord Cornwallis was able to sustain a siege for a fortnight,
until he despaired of reinforcements from New York.
Be it also observed, that the greater part of the forces besieging
Yorktown were not Americans, but French, who supplied the
shipping and artillery ; in short, all the attacking forces by
water, and a duplicate land enemy — the one part under the
command of Count de Rochambeau, and the other part under
the command of the Marquis de La Fayette. Had it not been
for the French fleet and the French land forces, Washington
would not have attempted an attack upon Yorktown. The
success of the siege was, therefore, more French than American,
though Washington had the nominal command of the allied
army.
No one can doubt the undaunted courage and matchless skill
of Washington, and his great superiority over any English
general ever sent against him ; nor can the bravery and en-
durance of his army be justly questioned ; nor the dash and
boldness and gallantry of the French army. But it is idle to
speak of the siege of Yorktown as a trial of strength between
Young America and Old England. And it is equally incorrect
to say that the resources of England, in men or money, in ships
or land forces, were exhausted, or that England was compelled
48 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [OHAP. XXX
to make peace in consequence of the disaster of Lord Corn-
wallis. There had been a peace party, both in and out of
Parliament, opposed to the American war from the beginning.
That party included some of the ablest statesmen in England,
and increased in strength and influence from year to year,
by exposing the incompetence, extravagance, and corruption
of the Administration, the failure of all their plans, and the
non-fullilment of any of their promises in regard to America ;
that although they could defeat the Americans in the field
of battle, they had not conquered and they could not conquer
the hearts of the people, who became more and more alienated
from England by the very example and depredations of the
British officers and soldiers. The surrender of Lord Cornwallis,
the importance of which was greatly magnified, increased the
intensity of English feeling against the continuance of the
American war, until the peace party actually gained a majority
in the House of Commons, compelled the retirement of the old
and corrupt Ministry, which had been the cause of all the
oppressions in the American colonies and all the miseries of the
war. , Session after session, the leaders of the Opposition in both
the Lords and Commons moved resolutions condemning the
American war and the manner of conducting it ; the Duke of
Richmond, the Marquis of Rockingham, the Earl of Shelburne
in the Lords ; and General Conway, Mr. Fox, Mr. Burke, Lord
John Cavendish, Mr. Hartley, Mr. Dunning (afterwards Lord
Ashburton), and Sir James Lowther in the Commons. Several
resolutions were introduced into the Commons condem-
natory of the war in America, with a view of reducing the
colonies to submission, and were defeated by small majorities —
in one a majority of ten, and in another a majority of only one.
At length they were censured and rejected by the Commons
without a division.
On the 22nd of February, General Conway moved " That an
address should be presented to his Majesty, to implore his
Majesty to listen to the advice of his Commons, that the war in
America might no longer be pursued for the impracticable purpose
of reducing the inhabitants of that country to obedience by force,
and to express their hopes that his Majesty's desire to restore
the public tranquillity might be forwarded and made efiectual
by a happy reconciliation with the revolted colonies."
CHAP. XXX.]
AND THEIR TIMES.
49
After a lengthened debate, this resolution was negatived —
one hundred and ninety-three for the resolution, against it one
hundred and ninety -four — a majority of one for the continu-
ance of the war.
The motion having been objected to as vague in its terms,
General Conway, on the 27th of February, introduced another
motion, the same in substance with the previous one, but varied
in phraseology, so as to meet the rules of the House, and more
explicit in its terms. This resolution was strongly opposed
by the Ministry ; and after a long debate the Attorney -General
moved the adjournment of the House: For the adjournment
voted two hundred and fifteen; against it, two hundred and
thirty-four — majority of nineteen against the Ministry — so
that the original question, and an address to the King, framed
upon the resolution, were then carried without a division.* The
King returned a gracious but vague answer.
General Conway, after moving a vote of thanks to the King
for his gracious answer, followed by moving a resolution :
" That this House would consider as enemies to his Majesty
and the country all those who should advise or by any means at-
tempt the further prosecution of oflensive war, on the continent
of North America, for the purpose of reducing the revolted
colonies to obedience by force." This motion, after a feeble oppo-
sition from the Ministry, was allowed to pass without a division.
It might be supposed, under these circumstances, that the
Ministry would forthwith resign ; but they continued to hold
on to office, which they had held for twelve years, to the great
injury of England and her colonies.
* During fhe discussion on this question, it had been argued that the
Americans are fed, clothed, and paid by France ; they are led on by French
officers ; the French and the American armies are incorporated into one ; it
was merely a locality that should give name to a war. France had formerly
been fought with success in Germany, and there could be no solid objection
to fighting her in America. General Conway argued that French troops did
not cost more than ^£40 per man a year, while the expense of the English
troops cost £100 per man a year. General Conway reminded the House that
though seventy -three thousand men were voted and paid for, we had never
above half that number in actual service. Government had, therefore, only
to complete the regiments, and they would have more men in America than
ever they had before." (Annual Register of Parliament for 1782, pp.
158—161.)
VOL. II. — 4
50 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXX.
To bring the matter to an issue, the following resolution was
moved on the 8th of March by Lord John Cavendish, seconded
by Mr. Powys :
"That it appears to this House, that since the year 1775
upwards of one hundred millions of money have been expended
on the army and navy in a fruitless war.
" That it appears to this House, that during the above period
we have lost the thirteen colonies of America, which anciently
belonged to the Crown of Great Britain (except the ports of
New York, Charleston, and Savannah), the newly acquired
colony of Florida, many of our valuable West India and other
islands, and those that remain are in the utmost danger.
" That it appears to this House, that Great Britain is afe present
engaged in an expensive war with America, France, Spain, and
Holland, without a single ally.
" That it appears to this House, that the chief cause of all
these misfortunes has been the want of foresight and ability in
his Majesty's Ministers.*"
The facts stated in the first three of these resolutions were
admitted on all sides ; the discussion, therefore, turned upon the
conclusion drawn in the last resolution, the justice of which
was patent to all from the uniform failure and disgrace of the
policy and all the separate measures of Ministers during the
whole of their administration. It was attempted to be argued,
in defence of Ministers, that misfortune did not always prove
misconduct ; that the failure of execution of measures might
depend, not on those who planned them, but on the fault of
those who were to execute them. But " this sfrovmd," savs the
Parliamentary Register, " appeared so weak, even to the friends
of the Administration, that it was almost entirely deserted, except
by the Ministers themselves ; and the question was taken up
with great art and ingenuity on other topics, as to who would
succeed the Administration they were endeavouring to remove,
and the diversity of opinions among them. But the efforts on
the part of Ministers and their friends to create jealousies and
discords among the members of the Opposition proved fruitless ;
and when the final vote was proposed, the Secretary of War
evaded it by moving the order of the day, which was carried
by a majority of ten."
* Annual Eegister of Parliament for 1782, Vol. XXIX., p. 173.
CHAP. XXX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 51
In the interval between the 8th and 14th, every intrigue
was employed to create discord among the members of the
Opposition, and to bring about a coalition under the presidency
of Lord North, and a resolution was moved to that effect, which
was lost by a majority of only nine.
The Earl of Surrey gave notice that on the morning of the
20th inst. he would move, in substance, Lord John Caven-
dish's resolution directly condemnatory of the Ministry. On
that morning Lord North and the Earl of Surrey rose at the
same moment, and neither would give way to the other. The
general cry was " Lord Surrey, and no adjournment." As soon as
the House could be reduced to order, it was moved " That the
Earl of Surrey be now heard," when Lord North, having obtained
the right to speak, said, " I rise to speak to the motion before
the House." He observed that had he been suffered to proceed
before, he believed much unnecessary heat and disorder would
have been prevented. He meant no disrespect to the noble
earl ; but as notice had been given that the object of the
intended motion was the removal of his Majesty's Ministers, he
meant to have acquainted the House that such a motion had
become unnecessary. He could assure the House with authority
that the present Administration was no more, and that his
Majesty had come to a full determination of changing his
Ministers ; and that it was for the purpose of giving necessary
time for new arrangements that he meant to have moved an
adjournment.
The noble lord then took leave of the House as a Minister
of the Crown, and with many kind and courteous words
thanked them for the honourable support they had given him
during so long a course of years.*
• Abridged from the Parliamentary Register for 1782, Vol. XXV., Chap,
vii. See also Lord Mahon's History of England, etc., Vol. VII., Chap. Ixv.
Lord Mahon concludes his account of this Administration as follows :
" Thus ended Lord North's Administration of twelve years. It is certainly
strange, on contemplating these twelve years, to find so many harsh and
rigorous measures proceed from the most gentle and good-humoured of
Prime Ministers. Happy, had but greater firmness in maintaining his own
opinions been joined to so much ability in defending opinions even when
not his own.
" Even as to the disasters and miscarriages, however, which could not be
denied in his Administration, the friends of Lord North contended that in
52 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXX.
By such blows following each other in the Commons, in
rapid succession and with accelerated force, was driven from
power an Administration which had inflicted greater evils upon
the Crown, the constitution, the people of England and of the
colonies, than any Administration since the Revolution of ] 688.*
truth he was not answerable for them. The points in his favour were argued
a few days before his fall hy Mr. George Onslow in the House of Commons.
'Why,' said Mr. Onslow, 'have we in this war with America such ill
success ? Mainly,' he continued, ' from the support and countenance given in
that House to American rebellion. The army of Washington had been
called by the Opposition " our army ;" the cause of the Americans had been
called "the cause of liberty ;" and one gentleman (this was Mr. Burke),
while lavishing his praises on Dr. Franklin and Mr, Laurens, had declared
he would prefer a prison with them to freedom in company with those who
were supporting the cause of England.' But this vindication, though spirited,
nay, though true, is fault)^ ; because, though true, it is not the whole truth ;
because it overlooks what no statesman should — the certainty that when free
principles are at stake, dissensions will always arise in a free country." — lb.,
pp. 209, 210.
* I have not a shadow of doubt, that had the leaders in Congress adhered
to their pretensions of contending and fighting for British constitutional
rights, as aforetime, instead of renouncing those rights and declaring
Independence in 1776, the changes which took place in the Adminis-
tration in England in 1783 would have taken place in 1777 ; for the corrupt
Administration showed as strong symptoms of decline, and was as manifestly
" tottering to its fall" in the parliamentary session which commenced in
1776, as it did in the session which commenced in 1782. In both cases its
predictions and assured successes had been completely falsified ; in both cases
the indignation of the nation was aroused against the Administration, and
the confidence of Parliament was on the point of being withdrawn in
1776-77, as it was withdrawn in the session of 1782-83 ; but in 1776, the
Congress, instead of adhering to its heretofore professed principles, was
induced by its leaders, as related in Chapter xxvi., to renounce its former
principles ; to falsify all its former professions to its advocates in England and
fellow-subjects in America ; to renounce the maintenance of the constitutional
rights of British subjects ; to adopt a Declaration of Independence, of eternal
separation from England ; to extinguish the national life of the British
empire and the unity of the Anglo-Saxon race, and seek an alliance with
their own and Great Britain's hereditary enemies for a war upon their
mother country, which had protected them for a hundred years against the
French and Spaniards, who had also employed and rewarded the Indians to
destroy them.
CHAP. XXXI,] AND THEIR TIMES. 53
CHAPTER XXXI.
Change of Administration in England — Change of Policy for both
England and the Colonies — Peace Negotiations at Paris — The
Cause of the United Empire Loyalists.
During the adjournment of Parliament from the 24th to the
28th of March, the new Administration was formed, and
announced in the Commons on the 28th, when the House ad-
journed over the Easter holidays, to give time for the re-elec-
tion of such members as had accepted office. The King first
sent for the Earl of Shelburne to form a new Administration,
naming some members of it ; but the Earl of Shelburne
declined, as unable to form an Administration upon such con-
ditions, and recommended the King to send for the Marqviis of
Rockingham. The King refused to see Rockingham face to
face, but requested Shelburne to be the bearer of a message to
him ; but Shelburne only consented on the condition of " full
power and full confidence." " Necessity," relates the King,
"made me yield to the advice of Lord Shelburne." Before
accepting the offer of First Lord of the Treasury, the Mar-
quis of Rockingham, without neglecting some minor matters,
stipulated that there should be no veto to the independence of
America.* But it was nearly three months before an Act passed
* The new Cabinet was composed as follows : The Marquis of Rocking-
ham, First Commissioner of the Treasury ; tlie Earl of Shelburne and Mr.
Fox, Secretaries of State ; Lord Camden, President of the Council : Duke
of Grafton, Privy Seal ; Lord John Cavendish, Chancellor of the Exchequer ;
Admiral Keppel, raised to be a Viscount, First Commissioner of the Admiralty;
General Conway, Commander of the Ydices ; Duke of Richmond, Master
General of the Ordnance. Lord Thurlow was continued in the office of
54 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXI.
the Commons authorizing peace with America, and the ac-
knowledgment of American Independence, and it was nearly a
year before the treaty for that purpose was agreed upon.
In the meantime, " Immediately before the fall of Lord North's
Ministry, in anticipation of that event, Dr. Franklin had written
from Paris to Lord Shelburne with general expressions of his
pacific views. On receiving that letter. Lord Shelburne, then
Secretary of State, sent to Paris, as agent, Mr. Richard Oswald,
a London merchant well versed in American affairs. Dr. Frank-
lin readily conferred with Mr. Oswald, and put into his ■ hands
a paper drawn up by himself, suggesting that, in order to pro-
duce a thorough reconciliation, and to prevent any future quarrel
on the North American continent, England should not only
acknowledge the thirteen united States, but concede to them
the Province of Canada. Such a project was not likely to find
favour in the eyes of any British statesman. Mr. Oswald,
however, undertook to return to England and lay it before his
chief, Dr. Franklin, at his departure, expressing an earnest hope
that all future communications to himself might pass through
the same hands.
" Under these circumstances, the Cabinet determined that Mr.
Oswald should go back to France and carry on the treaty with
" Franklin, though by no means with such concessions as the
American philosopher desired."*
Lord High Chancellor, and Mr. Dunning raised to the peerage under the
title of Lord Ashburton, as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Mr.
Burke was not made a member of the Cabinet, but was appointed to the
lucrative ofhce of Paymaster of the Forces, and was further gratified by the
appointment of his son to a small office.
About six months after the formation of the new Cabinet the Marquis of
Rockingham died, and the Earl of Shelburne was appointed to succeed him,
when the Duke of Richmond, Mr. Fox, and Lord John Cavendish seceded
from the Cabinet, and were succeeded by Mr. Thomas Townsend and Lord
Graham as Secretaries of State, while the place of Lord John Cavendish, as
Chancellor of the Exchequer, was more than filled by Mr. Pitt.
* Lord Mahon's History of England, etc.. Vol. VII., Chap. Ixvi pp 265
266.
" At Paris, the negotiations had been much impeded by the resignation
of Mr. Fox and the return of Grenville. These events had, in many^minds,
cast a shade of doubt over the true intentions of the British Government.'
Lord Shelburne, however, renewed* the most pacific assurances, sending to
Paris, in place of Mr. Grenville and conjointly with Mr. Oswald, Mr. Alleyne
CHAP, XXXI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 55
After the termination of hostilities between Great Britain
and the colonies, the American Commissioners evinced a desire
to treat with England alone. Mr. Oswald, as early as July,
1782, wrote privately to Lord Shelburne, " The Commissioners
Fitzherbert, well known in after years as Lord St. Helens. These gentlemen
acted in amity and concert with each other, although, strictly speaking,
negotiation with America was, as before, the province of Mr. Oswald, and
negotiation with the European Powers the province of Mr. Fitzherbert. Dr.
Franklin, on the other hand, had associated with him three other American
Commissioners, arriving in succession — first, Mr. Jay, from Spain ; then Mr.
Adams, from Holland ; and finally, Mr. Laurens, from London.
" It became, ere long, apparent to the British agents that the Courts of
France and Spain were by no means earnest and sincere in the wish for an
immediate close of the war. With the hope of soon reducing Gibraltar, or
of otherwise depressing England, they put forward at this time either inad-
missible pretensions, or vague and ambiguous words. It therefore became
an object of great importance to negotiate, if possible, a separate pacification
with America. At first sight there appeared almost insuperable difficulties
in the way of such a scheme. The treaty of alliance of February, 1778,
between France and the United States, stipulated in the most positive terms
that neither party should conclude a peace or truce with England, unless
with the consent of the other party first obtained. Since that time the
French, far from falling short of their engagement, had gone much beyond it.
To say nothing of their despatch of a fleet and army, and besides their
annual loans and advances to the United States, they had made, in 1781, a
free gift of six millions of livres, and in the spring of 1782 granted another
to the same amount.
" On the other hand, however, there was a strong temptation to treat
without delay. War, if still waged, would be mainly for French and
Spanish purposes. It could be made clear that when the independence of
the Americans was fully established and secured, they had no interest any
more than England in continuing an unprofitable contest." — J6., pp. 291 — 293.
" Moreover, there had sprung up in the minds of the American Commis-
sioners at Paris a strong feeling of distrust and suspicion against their new
allies. That feeling we find most plainly expressed by Mr. Adams in relat-
ing his own conversations with Mr, Oswald. ' You are afraid,' said Mr.
Oswald to-day, * of being made the tools of the Powers of Europe V ' Indeed
I am,' said I. ' Wliat Powers V said he. ' All of them,' said I.
" But in the minds of the American Commissioners, the distrust against
France was more vehement tJian against any other State. The best
American writers of the present day acknowledge that all surmises thence
arising were, in truth, ill-founded ; that the conduct of France towards the
United States had been marked throughout not only by good faith and
honour, but by generosity." (Lord Mahon's History of England, etc, VoL
VIL, Chap. Ixvi., pp. 293, 294.)
56 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXI,
of the colonies have shown a desire to treat and to end with us
on a separate footing from the other Powers." " The separate
negotiation thus arising was delayed," says Lord Mahon, " first
by the severe illness of Dr. Franklin, and next by some points
of form in the commission of Mr. Oswald. When at length the
more solid part of the negotiation was commenced, the hints of
Franklin for the cession of Canada were quietly dropped, with
greater ease from their having been transmitted in a confidential
form. It is also worthy of note that Lord Shelburne prevailed,
in his desire of acknowledging the independence of the United
States, by an article of the treaty, and not, as Mr. Fox had
wished, by a previous declaration."
The two most difficult questions of the treaty related to the
fishing grounds of Newfoundland, and the Loyalists or "Tories,"
as they were called. The English were unwilling to concede the
use of the fishing grounds, but the Americans were firm ; the
result was, that by the provisions of the treaty it was agreed that
the Americans should have the right to take fish on the banks
of Newfoundland, but not to dry or cure them on any of the
King's settled dominions.*
* In the preamble of the treaty, it was provided that " The treaty was
not to be concluded until terms of peace shall be agreed upon between
Great Britain and France." By this limitation (which was a mere form, as
the provisional articles were to be meanwhile binding and effective), the
Americans were in hopes of avoiding, at least of softening, their French allies.
" The tirst Article acknowledged in the fullest terms the independence of the
United States. The second fixed their boundaries, and certainly to their
advantage. The third gave their people the right to take fish on all the
banks of Newfoundland, but not to dry or cure them on any of the King's
settled dominions in America. By the fourth, fifth, and sixth Articles, it was
engaged that Congress should earnestly recommend to the several Legisla-
tures to provide for the restitution of all estates belonging to real British
subjects who had not borne arms against them. All other persons were to
be at liberty to go to any of the provinces and remain there for twelve
months to wind up clieir affairs, the Congress also recommending the resti-
tution of their confiscated property, on their repayment of the sums for which
they had been sold. No impediment was to be put in the way of recovering
bona fide debts; no further prosecutions were to be commenced, no further con-
fiscations made. It was likewise stipulated in the seventh and eighth Articles
that the English should at once withdraw their fleets and armies from every
port or place which they still possessed within the limits of the United
States; and that the navigation of the Mississippi, from its source to the ocean
CHAP. XXXI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 57
But the question which transcended all others in importance,
with which this work has chiefly to do, was that of the
Loyalists — a class which, by the testimony of American his-
torians themselves, constituted, at the beginning of the war, a
majority of the population of the colonies. Their numbers
had been greatly reduced from various causes during the war ;
they had been plundered and scattered by the alternate ascen-
dancy of opposite parties ; they had all of them suffered in their
property and liberty ; many of them had suffered imprison-
ment, and not a few of them had been executed as criminals
for preferring their oath of allegiance and connection with the
mother country to a renunciation of their former profession of
faith, and absolute submission to a nearly self -created authority
of rule and a new political creed. At the conclusion of the
war, and in the treaty of peace, " the question of Loyalists or
Tories," says Lord Mahon, " was, as it ought to be, a main object
with the British Government to obtain, if possible, some resti-
tution to the men who, in punishment for their continued alle-
giance to the King, had found their property confiscated and
should be for ever free and open to both parties." (Lord Mahon's History,
etc., Vol. VII., Chap. Ixvi., pp. 297, 298.)
" It is not to be supposed that the French Government could view with
unconcern the studied secrecy of this negotiation. The appearances of amity
were, indeed, for the sake of miitual interest, kept up on either side. But thus
did the Comte de Vergennes (the French Minister of Foreign Affiiirs)
unbosom himself in writing to the French Minister at Philadelphia : ' You
will surely be gratified, as well as myself, with the very extensive advantages
which our allies, the Americans, are to receive from the peace ; b\it you
certainly will not be less surprised than I have been with the conduct of the
commissioners. * * They have cautiously kept themselves at a distance
from me. Whenever I have had occasion to see any one of them, and
enquire of them briefly respecting the progress of the negotiation, they have
constantly clothed their speech in generalities, giving me to understand that
it did not go forward, and that they had no confidence in the sincerity of
the British Ministry. Judge of my surprise when, on the 30th of November,
Dr. Franklin informed me that Articles were signed. The reservation re-
tained on our account does not save the infraction of the promise which we
have made to each other, not to sign except conjointly. * * This negotiation
has not yet so far advanced in regard to ourselves as that of the United
States ; not but what the King, if he had shown as little delicacy in his
proceedings as the American Commissioners, might have signed articles with
England long before them.'"— 16., pp. 298, 299.
58 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXI.
their persons banished. But from the first Dr. Franklin held
out no hopes of any satisfaction on that point. ' The Commis-
sioners,' he said, ' had no such power, nor had even Congress.'*
Thev were willinsr that Congress should, with certain modifica-
tions, recommend those indemnities to the several States ; and,
as one of the negotiators from England tells us, they to the
last ' continued to assert that the recommendation of Congress
would have the effect we proposed.' The British diplomatists
persevered in their original demand, and at one time there
seemed a probability that the negotiations might break off,
chiefly on this ground. Twice was Mr. Strachey, the Under-
Secretary, of State, an able and experienced man, dispatched
to Paris to aid Mr. Oswald with his counsel and co-operation.
But at last the mind of Franklin, ever ingenious and fertile
of resources, devised a counter scheme. He said that he would
allow the losses which the Loyalists had suffered, provided
another account were opened of the mischief they had done,
as of slaves carried off, or houses burned ; new Commissioners
to be appointed to strike a balance between the two computa-
tions. At this formidable proposal, involving an endless train
of discussions and disputes, the negotiators from England finally
gave way."-!-
This account of the negotiation in regard to the United
Empire Loyalists, taken from Lord Mahon's impartial history,
is corroborated in all essential particulars by American his-
torians. Mr. Bancroft says that " Franklin having already
explained that nothing could be done for the Loyalists by the
United States, as their estates had been confiscated by laws of
particular States, which Congress had no power to repeal, he
further demonstrates that Great Britain had forfeited every
right to intercede for them by its conduct and example, to
which end he read to Oswald the orders of the British in
Carolina for confiscating and selling the lands and property of
all patriots under the direction of the military ; and he declared
definitely that, though the separate governments might show
compassion where it was deserved, the American Commissioners
* It was self-contradictory to say that Congress had power to confiscate
property, and yet had no power to restore it when confiscated.
t Lord Mahon's History of England, etc., Vol. VII., Chap. Ixvi., pp 295
296.
CHAP. XXXI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 59
for Peace could not make compensation of refugees a part of
the treaty."
" This last demand (adequate indemnity for the confiscated
property of loyal refugees) touched alike the sympathy and
the sense of honour of England. The previous answer, that
the Commissioners had no power to treat on the business of
the Loyalists, was regarded as an allegation that though they
claimed to have full power, they were not plenipotentiaries ;
that they were acting under thirteen separate sovereignties,
which had no common head. To meet the exigence, Shelburne
proposed either an extension of Nova Scotia to the Penobscot,
or Kennebec, or the Saco, so that a province might be formed
for the reception of Loyalists ; or that a part af the money to
be received from sales of the Ohio lands might be applied to
their subsistence."
"On the 29th of November, 1782, Strachey, Oswald, and
Fitzherbert, on the one side, and Jay, Franklin, Adams, and for
the first time Laurens, on the other, came together for their last
word at the apartments of Jay. The American Commissioners
agreed that there should be no future confiscations nor prosecu-
tions of Loyalists, that all pending prosecutions should be
discontinued, and that Congress should recommend to the
several States and their Legislatures, on behalf of refugees,
amnesty and the restitution of their confiscated property."
" On the 30th, the Commissioners of both countries signed and
sealed fair copies of the Convention." " The treaty was not a
compromise, nor a compact imposed by force, but a free and
perfect solution and perpetual settlement of all that had been
called in question."*
Dr. Ramsay observes : " From the necessity of the case, the
Loyalists were sacrificed, nothing further than a simple recom-
mendation for restitution being stipulated in their favour. * *
The case of the Loyalists was undoubtedly a hard one, but
unavoidable from the complex Constitution of the United
States. The American Ministers engaged, as far as they were
authorized, and Congress did all they constitutionally could;
but this was no more than simply to recommend their case to
* History of the United States, Vol. X., Chap, xxix., pp. 555, 583, 589,
590, 591.
60 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXI.
the several States, for the purpose of making them restitution.
To have insisted on more, under such circumstances, would
have been equivalent to saying that there should be no peace.
It is true, much more was expected from the recommendations
of Congress than resulted from them; but this was not the
consequence of deception, but of misunderstanding the principles
of the confederation. In conformity to the letter and spirit of
the treaty. Congress urged, in strong terms, the propriety of
making restitution to the Loyalists, but to procure it was
beyond their power. * * There were doubtless among the
Loyalists many worthy characters, friends of peace and lovers
of justice. To such restitution was undoubtedly due, and to
many such it was made ; but it is one of the many calamities
incident to war, that the innocent, from the impossibility of
discrimination, are often involved in the same distress with the
guilty. ^
" The return of the Loyalists to their former places of
residence was as much disrelished by the Whig citizens of
America as the proposal for reimbursing their confiscated
property. In sundry places Committees were formed, who, in
an arbitrary manner, opposed their peaceable residence. The
sober and dispassionate citizens exerted themselves in checking
these irregular measures ; but such was the violence of party
spirit, and so relaxed were the sinews of government, that, in
opposition to legal authority and the private interference of the
judicious and moderate, many indecent outrages were com-
mitted on the persons and property of the returning Loyalists.
" Nor were these all the sufferings of those Americans who
had attached themselves to the royal cause. Being compelled
to depart from their native country, many of them were obliged
to take up their abodes in the inhospitable wilds of Nova
Scotia, or on the barren shores of the Bahama Islands. Parlia-
mentary relief was extended to them ; but this Avas obtained
with difficulty, and distributed with a partial hand. Some, who
invented plausible tales of loyalty and distress, received much
more than they ever possessed ; while others, less artful, were
not half reimbursed for their actual losses."*
* Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xxvii., pp.
489, 490, 491.
CHAP. XXXI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 61
Mr. Hildreth remarks, under date of September, 1783, "that
at New York a general release of prisoners had taken place
on both sides ; but the necessity of finding transports for the
numerous Loyalists assembled there protracted the evacuation
of New York. In consequence of laws still in force against
them, several thousand American Loyalists found it necessary to
abandon their country. A considerable portion of these exiles
belonged to the wealthier classes ; they had been ofiScials, mer-
chants, large landholders, conspicuous members of the colonial
aristocracy. Those from the North settled principally in Nova
Scotia or Canada, provinces the politics of which their descend-
ants continued to control until quite recently. Those from the
South found refuge in the Bahamas and other West India
islands. Still objects of great popular odium, the Loyalists had
little to expect from the stipulated recommendations of Con-
gress in their favour. Some of the States, whose territory had
been longest and most recently occupied by the enemy, were
even inclined to enact new confiscations."*
In each and all of these historical statements it is clearly
admitted that the claim of the Loyalists to compensation for loss
of property was founded in equity, as well as in national policy.
This is sanctioned by the admission of the American Commis-
sioners and the recommendation of Congress. The want of
power in Congress to do what is admitted to be an act of justice
to the Loyalists is the plea for not restoring them the property
which had gone into the hands of their opponents, who were
proportionally enriched thereby. It was left to local avarice
and local resentment to deal with the property of banished
exiles.
What was claimed by and in behalf of the Loyalists accorded
with the practice of even modern nations, as well as with the
sentiments of humanity. When the Dutch provinces asserted
their independence of Spain, and after a long and bloody war
obtained the recognition of it, they cordially agreed to an act
of oblivion, and even restored to those who had adhered to the
cause of Spain, their property of every denomination that had
been confiscated, or the full value of it. Even Spain herself had
twice thus acted towards the province of Catalonia — first, on its
* Hildreth's History of the United States, Vol. III., Chap, xlv., p. 439.
62 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXI.
revolting from that Crown, and calling in the assistance of
France ; and secondly, on its refusing to acknowledge the Bour-
bon family, at the beginning of the last century. Though the
inhabitants had forfeited life and property, yet, on their return
to obedience, life, possessions, laws and immunities remained
inviolate. England had conducted herself in the same spirit
towards that party in Ireland which had taken up arms in
support of James the Second. No proscriptions took place, and
every man, on submitting to Government, was admitted to the
undisturbed enjoyment of his property. Had this spirit
actuated, and these examples, with many others of like charac-
ter, influenced the Americans, how much more honourable to
them, and more consistent with sound policy, to efface . at once
all remembrance of internal discords, than to pursue, in the
execrable spirit of revenge and avarice, those of their country-
men who differed from them in opinion in the late contest, and
sided with Great Britain.* That the plea that Congress had
no power in granting amnesty and compensation to the Loyal-
ists was a mere pretext, is manifest from the fact that the
Commissioners agreed that there should be no more confisca-
* The royal historian, Dr. Andrews, remarks strongly on this subject as
follows :
" The demands of restitution to the Loyalists of their property confiscated
during the war, for their attachment to our cause, had been refused by the
American Commissioners, on pretence that neither they, nor Congress itself,
could comply with it, any farther than by recommendation of it to the
different States. The demand was in itself so just, and founded on so many
historical precedents, that Congress could not possibly plead a want of fore-
sight that it would be made. It had been usual in all ages, on the cessation
of civil war, to grant a general amnesty. No other motive but that of the
basest and most barbarous revenge could induce men to express an averseness
to so humane and necessary a measure. Next to the cruelty of such a refusal
was the meanness of those who submitted to it.
" Circumstances empowered this nation to have acted with such firmness
as to compel the Americans to relax their obstinacy in this particular. Until
they had consented to a generous treatment of the Loyalists, we ought to
have withheld the restitution of the many strong places still remaining in
our hands, and made the surrender of them the price of their acquiescence
in our demands in favour of the brave and faithtiil people who had sulfered
so much on our account." (Dr. Andrews' History of the Late War, Vol.
IV., pp. 401, 402.)
" All parties in the Commons unanimously demanded amnesty and in-
demnity for the Loyalists." (Bancroft, Vol. X., Chap, xxix., p. 586.)
CHAP. XXXI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 63
tions or proscriptions against the Loyalists ; for if the laws
under which these prosecutions were instituted and confiscations
made were State laws, with which Congress had no power to
interfere, how could the Congress Commissioners stipulate that
there should be no more confiscations or proscriptions ?
Dr. Franklin, the most experienced and ablest of the Ameri-
can diplomatists, was the most crafty and overbearing against
England. At the beginning of the negotiations for peace, he
demurely proposed, and half converted Mr. Oswald to his pro-
position, to concede Canada (which at that time meant all British
North America) to the United States, though his commission
related simply to the independency of the thirteen colonies ;
and when the British Cabinet vetoed this extra-ofiicial and
extravagant proposition, Dr. Franklin and his colleagues over-
reached the ignorance and weakness of the British diplomatists
by carefully constructed maps for the purpose of making the
boundary lines between the proposed possessions of Great
Britain and the United States on their northern and north-
western frontiers. These lines were so ingeniously drawn as
to take from Great Britain and include in the United States
the immense and valuable territories, back settlements, and
the whole country between the Alleghany Mountains and the
Mississippi, and which have since become the States of Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Michigan, Minne-
sota, etc. — to not one foot of which the thirteen American
colonies had the slightest claim — territories ample to compen-
sate Loyalists for their losses and banishment, but whose in-
terests, together with these most valuable possessions, were lost
to Great Britain by the subserviency of the British Commis-
sioner, Oswald (a London and American merchant), who looked
to his own interests, and was the subservient tool and echo of
Dr. Franklin. The above territories were a part of the domain
of Congress, irrespective of any State, and therefore at the abso-
lute disposal of Congress. Yet, with these immense accessions
of resources, the American Commissioners professed that the
Congress had no, power or means to compensate the United
Empire Loyalists for the confiscation and destruction of their
property ! One knows not at which most to marvel — the bold-
ness, skill, and success of the American Commissioners, or the
cowardice, ignorance, and recklessness of the British diplomatists.
64 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXI.
The result of these negotiations was, that the adherents to
Great Britain during the civil war were deprived of the
amnesty and restoration of property upon any ground of right,
as had been granted at the termination of civil strife by all
civilized nations — to the restoration of what had been taken
from them during the war — and turned over as suppliant cul-
prits to the several States by whose laws their property had
been confiscated, and themselves declared guilty of treason, and
condemned to the death of traitors. Dr. Franklin, in the
beginning of his negotiations, had proposed to give all that
now constitutes British North America to the United States,
and thus leave to the British Loyalists not an inch of ground
on which to place their feet ; but all that was now left to them,
as far as America was concerned, was to prostrate themselves
as suppliants before the Legislatures of the several States, each
of which was for the most part a seething cauldron of passion
and resentment against them.* ♦
* Dr. Ramsay justly remarks : " The operation of treason laws added
to the calamities of the war. Individuals on both sides, while they were doing
no more than they supposed to be their duty, were involved in the penal
consequences of capital crimes. The Americans, in conformity to the usual
policy of nations, demanded tlie allegiance of all who resided among them ;
but many preferred the late royal government, and were disposed, when
opportunity offered, to support it. While they acted in conformity to these
sentiments, the laws enacted for the security of the new government con-
demned them to death. Of all wars, civil are most to be dreaded. They
are attended with the bitterest of resentments, and produce the greatest
quantity of human woes. In the American war the distresses of the country
were greatly aggravated from the circumstance that every man was obliged,
some way or other, to be in the public service. In Europe, where the mili-
tary operations are carried on by armies hired and paid for the purpose,
the common people partake but little of the calamities of the war ; but in
America, where the whole people were enrolled as a militia, and where both
sides endeavoured to strengthen themselves by oaths and by laws, denouncing
the penalties of treason on those who aided or abetted the opposite party, the
sufferings of individuals were renewed as often as fortune varied her standard.
Each side claimed the co-operation of the inhabitants, and was ready to
punish them when it was withheld.
" In the first institution of the American governments the boundaries of
authority were not properly fixed. Committees exercised legislative, execu-
tive, and judicial powers. It is not to be doubted that in many instances
these were improperly used, and that private resentments were often covered
under the specious veil of patriotism. The sufferers, in passing over to the
CHAP, XXXI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 65
Loyalists, carried with them a keen remembrance of the vengeance of Com-
mittees, and when opportunity presented were tempted to retaliate. From
the nature of the case, the original offenders were less frequently the objects
of retaliation than those who were entirely innocent. One instance of
severity begat another, and they continued to increase in a proportion that
doubled the evils of common war. * * The Eoyalists raised the cry of per-
secution, and loudly complained that, merely for supporting the Government
under which they were born, and to which they owed a natural alleigance,
they were doomed to suffer all the penalties of capital offenders. Those of
them who acted from principle felt no consciousness of guilt, and could not
but look with abhorrence upon a Government which could inflict such severe
punishments for what they deemed a laudable line of conduct. Humanity
would shudder at a particular recital of the calamities which the Whigs
inflicted on the Tories and the Tories on the Whigs. It is particularly
remarkable, that many on both sides consoled themselves with the belief
that they were acting and suffering in a good cause." (History of the
United States, Vol. II., Chap, xxvi., pp. 467, 468, 469.;
VOL. II. — 5
66 THE LOYALISTS OF AMEEICA [CHAP. XXXII.
CHAPTER XXXII.
Origin of Republicanism and Hatred of Monarchy in America —
Thomas Paine : a Sketch of his Life, Character, and Writings,
AND their Effects.
No social or political phenomenon in the history of nations
has been more remarkable than the sudden transition of the
great body of the American colonists, in 1776, from a reverence
and love of monarchical institutions and of England, in which
they had been trained from their forefathers, to a renunciation
of those institutions and a hatred of England. Whatever influ-
ence the oppressive policy of the British Administration may
have had in producing this change, was confined to compara-
tively few in America, was little known to the masses, and had
little influence over them. This sudden and marvellous revolu-
tion in the American mind was produced chiefly by a pamphlet of
forty pages, written at the suggestion of two or three leaders of
the American revolutionists, over the signature of "An English-
man." This Englishman was no other than Thomas Paine, better
known in after years as Tom Paine, " the blasphemous infidel
and beastly drunkard," as the New York Observer, in answer
to a challenge, proved him to be beyond the possibility of suc-
cessful contradiction. Tom Paine was of a Quaker family;
was a staymaker by trade, but an agitator by occupation. He
had obtained an appointment as exciseman, but was dismissed
from his ofiice, and emigrated to America in 1774. He some-
how obtained an introduction to Dr. Franklin in London, who
gave him a letter of introduction to a gentleman in Philadelphia,
through whom he procured employment in the service of a
bookseller. Beginning forthwith to write for a leadino- news-
CHAP. XXXII.l AND THEIR TIMES. 67
paper on the agitated questions of the day, his articles attracted
attention and procured him the acquaintance of some influential
persons, and he at length became editor of the " Pennsylvania
Magazine." He was the master of a singularly attractive, lucid,
and vituperative style, scarcely inferior to that of Junius him-
self. At the suggestion of Franklin and one or two other
leaders of the revolution, he wrote a pamphlet of forty pages in
favour of Independence, entitled " Common Sense," and over
the signature of " An Englishman," yet bitter against England
and English institutions. It was addressed to the inhabitants
of America, and was arranged under four heads : first, " Of the
origin and design of government in general, with concise
remarks on the English Constitution ;" secondly , " Of monarchy
and hereditary succession ;" thirdly, " Thoughts on the present
state of military affairs ;" fourth, " Of the present ability of
America, with some miscellaneous reflections." Mr. Frothing-
ham says : " The portion on Government has little of permanent
value ; the glance at the English Constitution is superficial ;
and the attack on Monarchy is coarse. The treatment of the
American question under the two last heads gave the pamphlet
its celebrity."*
Mr. Gordon says that " No publication so much promoted
* Frotliingham's Rise of the Republic of the United States, Chap, xi., p. 472.
The pamphlet was called " Common Sense," and was written by Thomas
Paine, an Englishman, who held and expressed extreme opinions upon the
" Rights of Man." He had been a staymaker in Ejigland, and was ruined ;
when, in the winter of 1774, by Franklin's advice, he came to America and
rapidly grasped and compreliended the position of affairs. (Elliott's History
of New England, Vol. II., Chap, xxviii., p. 383.)
Referring to this demagogue of the American an,d French Revolution, his
American biographer, Cheetham, says : " All sects have had their disgraceful
members and offspring. Paine's father, a peaceful and industrious Quaker,
connects him with the exemplary sect of the Friends. He received his
education at the Grammar School of his native place, Thetford, in Norfolk,
but attained to little beyond the rudiments of Latin. His first application,
to business was in the trade of his father, that of staymaker, which he
followed in London, Dover, and Sandwich, where he married ; afterwards
he became a grocer and an exciseman, at Lewes, in Sussex. This situation
he lost through some misdemeanor. After this, however, so well were the
public authorities of his native country disposed to serve him, that one of the
Commissioners of Excise gave him a letter of recommendation to Dr. Frank-
lin, then a colonial agent in London, who recommended him to go to
68 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIL
the cause of Independence as that. The statements which are
now adopted were then strange, and Paine found difficulty in
procuring a publisher to undertake it."
Dr. Ramsay says : " The style, manner, and language of
Thomas Paine's performance were calculated to interest the
America. At this period he had first exercised his talents as a writer by
drawing up a pamphlet recommending the advance of the salaries of excise-
men.
" His age at this time was thirty-seven. His first engagement in Philadel-
phia was with Mr. Aitkin, a respectable bookseller, who, in January, 1775,
commenced the ' Pennsylvania Magazine,' the editorship of which work became
the business of Mr. Paine, who had a salary of £50 currency a year. When
Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia, suggested to Paine the propriety of preparing the
Americans for a separation from England, it seems that he seized with avidity
the idea, and immediately commenced his famous pamphlet on that subject,
which being shown in MS. to Doctors Franklin and Eush and Mr. Samuel
Adams, was, after some discussion, entitled, at the suggestion of Dr. Rush,
' Common Sense.' For this production the Legislature of Pennsylvania
voted him £500. Shortly afterwards Paine was appointed Secretary to the
Committee of the United States on Foreign Affairs. His business was
merely to copy papers, number and file them, and generally do the duty of
what is now called a clerk in the Foreign Department. But in the title-page
of his ' Rights of Man,' he styles himself ' Secretary for Foreign Affairs to
the Congress of the United States in the Late War.' While in this office, he
published a series of appeals on the struggle between Great Britain and the
colonies. In 1777 he was obliged to resign his secretaryship on account of
a quarrel with Silas Deane, American agent in France. The next year,
however, he obtained the appointment of Clerk to the Assembly of Pennsyl-
vania ; and in 1785, on the rejection of a motion to appoint him histori-
ographer to the United States, the 'Congress granted him three thousand
dollars, and the Legislature of New York granted him an estate of 500 acres
of highly cultivated land, the confiscated property of a Loyalist. Having no
more revolutionary occupation in the United States, he embarked for France
in 1787, with a letter of recommendation from Dr. Franklin to the Duke de
la Rochefoucault. From Paris he went to London, where, the following
year, he was arrested for debt, but was bailed by some American merchants.
He went to Paris in 1791 to publish, under the name of ' Achilles Du
Chatellet,' a tract recommending the aholition of royalty. He again returned
to London and wrote the first part of his ' Eights of Man,' in answer to
Mr. Burke's ' Eeflections on the French Eevolution.' The second part was
published early in 1792. He was ordered to be arrested and prosecuted for
his seditious and blasphemous writings, but escaped to France, and was
elected a member of the French National Convention — grateful for the
honour which the bloody anarchists had conferred upon him by electing him
a member of their order. His conduct, however, offended the Jacobins, and
CHAP. XXXII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 69
passions and to rouse all the active powers of human nature.
With the view of operating on the sentiments of religious
people, Scripture was pressed into his service ; and the powers
and name of a king were rendered odious in the eyes of nume-
rous colonists who had read and studied the history of the Jews,
towards the close of the year 1793 he was excluded from the convention,
was arrested and committed to the prison of the Luxembourg. Just before
his confinement he had finished the first part of his ' Age of Keason,' and
confided it to the care of his friend Joel Barlow for ptiblication. He was
now taken ill, to which circumstance he ascribed his escape from the
guillotine ; and on the fall of Robespierre was released. In 1795 he pub-
lished, at Paris, the second part of his ' Age of Reason.' He returned to
America in 1802, bringing with him a woman named Madame Bonneville,
whom he had seduced away from her husband, with her two sons, and whom
he seems to have treated with the utmost meanness and tyranny. His friend
and American biographer, Mr. Cheetham, in continuation, gives the following
account of Paine's arrival at New York in 1802 : ' The writer,' says Mr.
Cheetham, ' supposing him (Paine) to be a gentleman, was employed to
engage a room for him at Lovett's hotel. New York. On his arrival, in 1802,
about ten at night, he wrote me a note, desiring to see me immediately. I
waited on him at Lovett's, in company with Mr. George Clinton, jun. We
rapped at the door. A small figure opened it within, meanly dressed, having
an old top-coat, without an under one ; a dirty silk handkerchief loosely
thrown around his neck, a long beard of more than a week's growth, a face
well carbuncled as the setting sun, and the whole figure staggering under a
load of inebriation. I was on the point of inquiring for Mr. Paine, when I
noticed something of the portraits I had seen of him. We were desired to be
seated. He had before him a small round table, on which were a beefsteak,
some beer, a pint of brandy, a pitcher of water and a glass. He sat eating,
drinking, and talking with as much composure as if he had lived with us
all his life. I soon perceived that he had a very retentive memory, and was
full of anecdote. The Bishop of LlandafF (Dr. Watson) was almost the first
word he uttered, and it was followed by his informing us that he had in his
trunk a manuscript reply to the bishop's 'Apology for the Bible.' He then
calmly mumbled his steak, and ever and anon drinking his brandy and beer,
repeated the introduction to his reply, which occupied nearly half an hour.
This was done with deliberation and the utmost clearness, and a perfect
apprehension, intoxicated as he was, of all that he repeated. Scarcely a word
would he allow us to speak. He always, I afterwards found, in all compa-
nies, drunk or sober, would be listened to ; in his regard, there were no
rights of men with him — no equality, no reciprocal immmunities and obliga-
tions— for he would listen to no one.'
" On tlie 13th of October, 1802, he arrived at Baltimore, under the protec-
tion of Mr. Jefferson. But it appears that curiosity induced no one of
distinction to suffer his approach. While at his hotel he was principally
70 THE LOYALISTS OF AMEEICA [CHAP. XXXIL
as recorded in the Old Testament. Hereditary succession was
turned into ridicule. The absurdity of subjecting a great con-
tinent to a small island on the other side of the globe was
represented in such striking language as to interest the honour
and pride of the colonists in renouncing the government of
Great Britain. The necessity, the advantage and practicability
of independence were forcibly demonstrated.
" Nothing could be better timed than this performance. It
was addressed to freemen, who had just received convincing
proof that Great Britain had thrown them out of her protec-
tion, and engaged foreign mercenaries to make war upon them,
and seriously designed to compel their unconditional submission
to her unlimited power. It found the colonists most thoroughly
alarmed for their liberties, and disposed to do and suffer any-
thing that promised their establishment. In union with the
feelings and sentiments of the people, it produced surprising
effects. Many thousands were convinced, and were led to
approve and long for a separation from the mother country.
Though that measure, a few months before, was not only foreign
to their wishes, but the object of their abhorrence, the current
suddenly became so strong in its favour that it bore down all
opposition. The multitude was hurried down the stream ; but
some worthy men could not easily reconcile themselves to the
idea of an eternal separation from a country to which they
had long been bound by the most endearing ties. * * The
change of the public mind of America respecting connection
visited by the lower class of emigrants from Scotland, England, and Ireland,
who had read and admired his ' Eights of Man.' With them, it appears,
' he drank grog in the tap-room morning, noon, and night, admired and
praised, strutting and staggering about, showing himself to all and shaking
hands with all. The leaders of the party to which he had attached himself
paid him no attention.' "
Paine's subsequent years, until his miserable death in 1809, were charac-
terized by the lowest degradation, blasphemy, drunkenness, and filthiness
which rendered him unfit for any human society, as his biographies, written
even by his friends, abundantly testify.
Those who knew Paine in his earlier years were, of course, not responsible
for the depravity and degradation of his subsequent years ; but from the
beginning he was an infidel and an enemy of all settled government.
Such was the author of American republicanism and of American hatred
to England, to all British institutions, to all monarchy, and the advocate
of the abolition of kings.
CHAP. XXXIT.] AND THEIR TIMES. 71
with Great Britain is without a parallel. In the short space of
two years, nearly three millions of people passed over from the
love and duty of loyal subjects to the hatred and resentment
of enemies."*
The American press and all the American historians of that day
speak of the electric and marvellous intluence of Tom Paine's
appeal against kings, against monarchy, against England, and
in favour of American independence.
The following remarks of the London Athenoewm are quoted
by the New York Observer of the 10th of April, 1879 :
" A more despicable man than Tom Paine cannot be found
among the ready writers of the eighteenth century. He sold
himself to the highest bidder, and he could be bought at a very
low price. He wrote well ; sometimes as pointedly as Junius
or Cobbett (who had his bones brought to England). Neither
excelled him in coining telling and mischievous phrases ;
neither surpassed him in popularity-hunting. He had the art,
which was almost equal to genius, of giving 'happy titles to his
productions. When he denounced the British Government in
the name of ' Common Sense,' he found willing readers in the
rebellious American colonists, and a rich reward from their grate-
ful representatives. When he wrote on behalf of the ' Rights
of Man,' and in furtherance of the ' Age of Reason,' he con-
vinced thousands by his title-pages who were incapable of
perceiving the inconclusiveness of his arguments. His specula-
tions have long since gone the way of all shams ; and his
charlatanism as a writer was not redeemed by his character as
a man. Nothing could be worse than his private life ; he was
addicted to the most degrading vices. He was no hypocrite,
however, and he cannot be charged with showing that respect
for appearances which constitute the homage paid by vice
to virtue. Such a man was well qualified for earning notoriety
by insulting Washington. Only a thorough-paced rascal could
have had the assurance to charge Washington with being
unprincipled and unpatriotic."
* Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xii., pp. 161,
163, 163,
72 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXHI.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Hiring op Foreigners and Employment and Treatment of Indians
IN THE American War.
No two acts of the British Government in connection with
the American war were more deprecated on both sides of the
Atlantic than the employment of foreign troops and Indians
against the colonists ; they were among the alleged and most
exciting causes of the Declaration of Independence ; they
weakened British influence throughout the colonies; they
roused thousands to arms who would have otherwise remained
peacefully at home. In England they were denounced by the
highest personages both in and out of -Parliament, and by the
public at large.*
* The royal historian, Dr. Andrews, says :
" The colonies were particularly exasperated at the introduction of foreign
troops into this quarrel. They looked upon this measure as an unanswerable
proof that all regard for their character as Englishmen was fled, and that
Great Britain viewed them as strangers, whom, if she could not conquer and
enslave, she was determined to destroy. This persuasion excited their most
violent indignation ; they considered themselves as abandoned to plunder and
massacre, and that Britain was unfeelingly bent on their ruin, by whatsoever
means she could compass it.
" While the colonists represented this measure in so sanguinary a light, it
was depicted at home in the same colour by their partisans. It was even
reprobated by many individuals who were not averse to the other parts of
the Ministerial plan, but who could not bring themselves to approve of the
interference of foreign mercenaries in our domestic feuds.
" It was not only throughout the public at large this measure ocaasioned
so much discontent ; after having in Parliament undergone the keenest
censure of the Opposition, it fell under the displeasure of a considerable
number of those who sided with the Minister and were generally used to
CHAP, XXXIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 73
These Hessian mercenaries, though much lauded at first, and
dreaded by the colonists, proved to be inferior to the British
soldiers, were not reliable, deserted in large numbers, and
plundered everywhere, without regard to Loyalists or Disloyal-
ists, and strengthened the American resistance far more than
they strengthened the British army.*
support the measures of Government ; but on this occasion they loudly
dissented from them. Several quitted the House without votinj^ ; others,
who voted in his favour, obliged him previously to give them an assurance
that he would remove all their doubts and scruples, and satisfy them clearly
on this subject." (Dr. Andrews' History of the Late "War, Vol. II., Chap,
xviii., pp. 76, 77.)
* " The employment of foreign troops to reduce America was an object
animadverted upon by the Opposition with peculiar violence and indignation.
This, indeed, of all the Ministerial measures, met with the most acrimonious
notice both in and out of Parliament. * * Foreigners said the Opposition
were now taught that Britain, with all its boasted greatness, could not find
people at home to fight its battles. * * Who could behold so disgraceful a
measure without feeling for that loss of national honour which it must
occasion 1 * * But exclusive of the disgrace entailed upon our character,
the danger of the system was no less apparent. What reason had we to trust
an army of foreigners, who could possibly harbour no motives of enmity to
the people against whom they were to be employed ? The country where
these foreigners were to wage war for us, was precisely that to which we had
so often enticed numbers to emigrate from their native homes by promises
of more ease and happiness than they could enjoy in their own country. * *
Of all the measures that had been taken against the Americans, that of
hiring foreigners to invade their country had given the highest offence.
British soldiers, though acting in the capacity of foes, still retained the feel-
ings of countrymen, and would not shed blood without some compunction.
They were born and bred in a country noted for humanity, and the constitu-
tion of which inculcated mildness. But the Hessians were of a ferocious
disposition ; educated under a despotic Government, they knew no rights but
those of force. They carried destruction wherever they were masters,
plundering all before them without distinction, and committing the most
barbarous ravages.
" They had, it was said, been told before their departure from Germany
that they were to be put in possession of the lands of those whom they
conquered, and they were full of this expectation at their arrival. But upon
discovering their mistake, they resolved, however, to make themselves
amends by appropriating whatever they could lay their hands upon. * *
The conduct of the Hessians was extremely offensive to the British com-
manders, but they were too powerful a body to restrain by compulsion, as
they composed almost one-half of the army. Notwithstanding the prudence
and steadiness with wliich General Howe conducted himself upon this
74 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAF. XXXIII.
But if the hiring of foreign troops at an enormous expense
was disgraceful and impolitic, the employment of Indians
against the colonists was still more impolitic and unnatural an
outrage upon civilization and humanity ; and what is still even
more to be lamented is that this enlistment of savages in the
warfare of one branch of the British family against another
was sanctioned if not instigated by the King himself.*
»
emergency, it was not possible to restrain their excesses, nor even prevent
therti from spreading among the English troops in a degree to which they
would not have certainly been carried had they not such examples for a
plea.
" The depredations of the Hessians grew at last, it was said, so enormous,
that the spoils they were loaded with became an absolute incumbrance to
them, and a frequent impediment to the discharge of their military duties.
" The desolation of the Jerseys was one of the consequences of this spirit
of rapine. The Americans who adhered to Britain attributed to it the sub-
sequent decline of the British cause in these and other parts. As the devas-
tation was extended indiscriminately to friend and foe, it equally e.x.asperated
both parties ; it confirmed the enmity of the one, and raised up a new
enemy in the other ; and it injured the British interest in all the colonies."
(Dr. Andrews' History of the Late War, Vol. II., Chaps, xvii. and xxii., pp.
53, 54—268, 269.)
Dr. Andrews adds, in another place, that —
" The resentment occasioned by the depredations that had been carried
on in the Jerseys had left few, if any, friends to Britain in that province.
The dread of seeing those plunderers return, who had spared neither friend
nor foe, rendered all parties averse to the cause in which they were
employed. To this it was owing that their motions were observed with such
extreme \"igilance, that they stood little or no chance of succeeding in any
of their enterprises. So many had suffered through them, that there was no
deficiency of spies to give instant information of whatever they were sus-
pected to have in view ; and as much mischief was done them by such as
acted secretly from motives of private revenge, as by those who took an
open part against them in the field." (Dr. Andrews' History of the Ameri-
can War, etc., Vol. II., Chap, xxiii., pp. 301, 302.)
* " At the north, the King called to mind that he miglit ' rely upon the
attachment of his faithful allies, the Six Nations of Indians,' and he turned
to them for immediate assistance. To insure the fulfilment of his wishes,
the order to engage them was sent directly in his name to the unscrupulous
Indian agent, Guy Johnson, whose functions were made independent
of Carleton. ' Lose no time,' it was said ; ' induce them to take up the
hatchet against his Majesty's rebellious subjects in America. It is a service
of very great importance ; fail not to exert every effort that may tend to
accomplish it ; use the utmost diligence and activity.' " (Bancroft's History
of the United States, Vol. VII., Chap, xxxiii., p, 349,)
CHAP. XXXIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 75
During the war between France and England, which com-
menced in 1755, both parties sought the alliance and support of
the Indians, and employed them in the savage work of border
warfare. The French succeeded in securing the greater number
of the Indians, and used them with dreadful effect, murdering and
scalping thousands of the British colonists along the inland fron-
tiers of the several colonies. At the termination of the war by
the Treaty of Paris, in 1763, and the extinction of French power
in America, the French authorities commended the Indians to
cultivate the friendship of England, whose great superiority
and success in the war tended to turn the Indian affections and
interest in favour of the British. Dr. Ramsay observes : " The
dispute between Great Britain and her colonies began to grow
serious, and the friendship of the Indians became a matter of con-
sequence to both parties. Stretching for fifteen hundred miles
along the whole north-western frontier of the colonies, they
were to them desirable friends and formidable enemies. As
terror was one of the engines by which Great Britain intended
to enforce the submission of the colonies, nothing could be
more conducive to the excitement of this passion than the
co-operation of the Indians. Policy, not cruelty, led to the
adoption of this expedient, but it was of that over-refined
species which counteracts itself. In the competition for the
friendship of the Indians, the British had advantages far
superior to any possessed by the colonists. The expulsion
of the French from Canada — an event which had taken place
only thirteen years before — was still fresh in the memory of
many of the savages, and had inspired them with high ideas
of the martial superiority of the British troops. The first steps
taken by Congress to oppose Great Britain put it out of their
power to gratify the Indians. Such was the effect of the non-
importation agreement of 1774. While Great Britain had access
to the principal Indian tribes through Canada on the north, and
Florida on the south, and was abundantly able to supply their
many wants, the colonists had debarred themselves from
importing the articles which were necessary for the Indian
trade."*
* Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xix., pp. 320,
321.
" It was unfortunate for the colonies that since the peace of Paris, 1763,
76 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIII.
The employment of the Indians in this civil war was in
every respect disadvantageous to England. It was disapproved
and denounced throughout England and Europe, as unnatural
and inhuman ; it was disapproved by the English commanders
and even Loyalists in America, and inflamed the colonists to
the highest degree. Wherever the Indians were employed,
they were a source of weakness to the English army, while
their ravages and cruelties disgusted the Loyalists and brought
disgrace upon the English arms and cause. Sir Guy Carleton
forbade their crossing from Canada into the colonies, and was
afterwards accused in England for disobedience in not employ-
ing them ;* and General Burgoyne gave the strictest orders
against their murdering and plundering. His defeat near
Saratoga was largely owing to the conduct of the Indians in
his army.
the transactions with the Indians had been mostly carried on by superinten-
dents appointed and paid by the King of Great Britain. These being under
obligations to the Crown, and expectants of further favours from it, generally
used their influence with the Indians in behalf of the mother country and
against the colonies. * * The Americans were not unmindful of the savages
on their frontier. They appointed commissioners to explain to them the
grounds of their dispute, and to cultivate their friendship by treaties and
presents. They first sought to persuade the Indians to join them against
Great Britain, but having failed in that, they endeavoured to persuade the
Indians that the quarrel was by no means relative to them, and that there-
fore they should take part with neither side.
" For the greater convenience of managing the intercourse between the
colonies and the Indians, the latter were divided into three departments —
the northern, southern, and middle — and commissioners were appointed for
each. Congress also resolved to import and distribute among them a suitable
assortment of goods, to the amount of ^40,000 sterling, on account of the
United States ; but this was not executed." (Dr. Ramsay's History of the
United States, Vol. II., Chap, xix., p. 321.
* "Anxious (1775, October) to relieve St. John's, Carleton, after the
capture of Allen, succeeded in assembling about nine hundred Canadians at
Montreal ; but a want of mutual confidence, and the certainty that the
inhabitants generally favoured the Americans, dispirited them, and they
disappeared by desertions thirty or forty of a night, till he was left almost as
forlorn as before. The Indians, too, he found of little service ; ' they were
easily dejected, and chose to be of the strongest side, so that when they were
most wanted they vanished. But history must preserve the fact that though
often urged to let them loose on the rebel provinces, in his detestation of
cruelty he would not suffer a savage to pass the frontier." (Bancroft's
History of the United States, Vol. VIII., Chap, lii., p. 186.)
CHAP. XXXIIl.] AND THEIR TIMES. 77
American historians dilate with much eloquence and justice
upon the employment of Indians against the colonists, and
narrate, with every possible circumstance of aggravation, every
act of depredation and cruelty on the part of the Indians
against the white inhabitants that espoused the cause of Con-
gress ; but they omit to state in like manner that Congress
itself endeavoured to enlist the Indians in its quarrel with the
mother country ; that General Washington recommended their
employment against the English,* and that the very idea of
* " Eeading at the present day, we can see how the passionate and declama-
tory rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence has left its stain to this
hour on most of the political writing and oratory of America, and may wish
that the birth of a nation had not been screamed into the world after this
fashion. Nothing could have been easier than, in the like rhetorical lan-
guage, to draw up a list of lawlessness and utter outrage committed by the
colonists. Some of the charges will not bear examination.
" For instance, the aid of the Indians had been willingly accepted by the
colonists in the Canadian expedition since September, 1775 ; the general
question of their employment had been considered by Washington in con-
ference with a Committee of Congress and delegates of New England Gov-
ernments in October of the same year ; and the main objection which Wash-
ington and other olticers urged against it, as shown by a letter of his to
General Schuyler, January 27, 1776, and the answer from the latter, was that
of expense. He had, nevertheless (April 19, 1776), advised Congress 'to
engage them on our side,' as ' thej' must, and no doubt soon will, take an active
part either for or against us ;' and the Congress itself had, on June 3rd — not
a month before the Declaration of Independence was actually accepted —
passed a resolution to raise 2,000 Indians for the Canadian service, which,
shortly afterwards, was extended by another (referred to in a letter of
Washington's of June 20), authorizing General Washington to employ such
Indians as he should take into the service in any place where he might think
that they would be most useful, and to offer them bounties, not indeed for
scalps, but for every officer and soldier of the King's troops whom they might
capture in the Indian country or on the frontiers of the colonies. When all
this had been done, it needed the forgetfulness and the blind hypocrisy of
passion to denounce the King to the world for having ' endeavoured to
bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages ;' yet
the American people have never had the self-respect to erase this charge from
a document generally printed in the fore-front of their Constitution and Laws,
and with which every schoolboy is sedulously made familiar.
" Perhaps, indeed, it would have been otherwise had not the charge been
one which circumstances appeared to confirm. For, in fact, owing to causes
already indicated, the Americans never could make friends of the Indians
in the contest, and consequently the ' merciless savages' continue in history
to figure on the side of the British. Who could wonder at it ? At the date
78 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIIl.
engaging the Indians in this civil war originated with the first
promoters of the revolution in Massachusetts. Nor do American
historians state frankly and fairly that for every aggression
and outrage committed by the Indians, the American soldiers,
even under the express order of Congress, retaliated with a ten-
fold vengeance — not in the manner of civilized warfare, but
after the manner and destruction of the savages themselves.
The American writers had also great advantages in represent-
ing everything in regard to the proceedings of the revolu-
tionists in the brightest light, and everything connected with the
Loyalists and the English in the darkest colours, as they had the
reports, letters, and all other papers relating to these subjects in
their own exclusive possession, and published only such and
so much of them as answered their purpose ; even the internal
proceedings of Congress were secret,* and only became known
of the Declaration of Independence, the Indian child had only just reached
man's estate, who in the year of his birth might have escaped being a
victim to the bounty of £20, held out for the scalp of every Indian woman
and child, by Massachusetts, in 1775, whilst one of £40 had been offered for
that of his father, raised in 1776 to £300. It did not require the reten-
tive memory of the redskin to make him look with suspicion on solicita-
tions of friendship from men who might have been parties to such schemes
of extermination to his race." (The. Ludlow's History of the War of
Independence, 1777—1783, Chap, v., pp. 124—126.)
" But Jefferson's violent pamphlet should, in fact, be looked upon less
as a Declaration of. Independence than as a Declaration of War — less as an
assertion of right than as a cry of defiance uttered in the hour of grave
peril, and in the face of a formidable foe." — Ih., p. 126.
* Some of the members of Congress were, at times, not so reticent as their
oaths of secrecy required, and the squabbles of Conference became known
abroad. It is a curious illustration of the dignity and character of a body,
when the least publication of its proceedings becomes its disgrace.
" In those days (1779), far unlike our own, the Congress resembled a Com-
mittee or a Junta, much rather than a chamber of debate. The speeches,
it is said, were all in the style of private conversation. There were never
more than forty members present, often no more than twenty. These small
numbers, however, by no means ensured harmony, nor precluded violent
and unseemly quarrels, rumours of which were not slow in passing the
Atlantic. ' For God's sake,' thus wrote La Fayette from France, ' for God's
sake, prevent the Congress from disputing loudly together. Nothing so
much hurts the interest and reputation of America.' Thus the object
of concealment, unless, perhaps, for private purposes, was most imper-
fectly attained, although, in name at least, the deliberations of Congress
at this time were secret. Historically, even the Journal which they kept
CHAP. XXXIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 70
after the close of the war. And many of the most important
historical facts relating to the war have been brought to lioht in
the biographies and correspondence of the men who figured in
the revolution ; and many letters and papers of great historical
value in throwing light upon the events and conduct of parties
during that period have only been published during the present
century, and some of them for the first time during the present
generation. This is true in regard to much that relates to the
employment and proceedings of the Indians, as well as in regard
to those of the Loyalists and various events of the American
revolution. According to American historians, the idea of em-
ploying the Indians in the civil war was the wicked conception
of British malignity, and everywhere reprobated in America ;
while the idea was actually first conceived and embodied in
a resolution by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts. At
Cambridge a new Provincial Congress had assembled, with the
popular feeling in their favour, and with several thousands of
militia or minute men under their command. But the most
determined of all their measures was to enlist a company of
Stockbridge Indians residing in their province. Further still,
they directed a secret letter — and a secret it has been kept for
more than fifty years — to a missionary much esteemed by the
Indians in the western parts of New York, entreating " that
you will use your influence with them to join us in the defence
of our rights," — in other words, to assail and scalp the British
soldiers.* It is worthy of remark, that the Massachusetts
delegates, the framers of this letter, were among those who
expressed the highest astonishment and indignation when, at
a later period, a similar policy was adopted on the British
side.f
" Under date of the 27th of July, 1776, General Washington
gives little light as to their true proceedings. An American gentleman, who
lias studied that document with care, laments that it is ' painfully meagre, the
object being apparently to record as little as possible.' " (Lord Mahon's
History of England, Vol. VII., Chap. Iviii., pp. 420, 421 ; quoting as his
authority, " Letter of La Fayette to Washington, June 12, 1779," and " Life
of President Reed," by Mr. Wm. Reed, Vol. II., p. 18.)
* Lord Mahon's History of England, etc., Vol. VII., Chap, lii., pp. 52, 53.
t This letter, dated Concord, April 4, 1775, may be seen at length in the
Appendix to Sparks' edition of Washington's Writings, Vol. III., p. 495.
80 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIII.
wrote to Congress," says Mr. Allen, "expressing respectful
anxiety that the Stockbridge Indians shall be employed, and
remarks that they were dissatisfied at not being included in the
late order for enlisting their people, and had inquired the cause
of General Putman.
" The reasons he assigns for recommending their employment
are such as have influenced, and probably determined, the
Americans from that time to the termination of the last war
(1812 — 1815) with Great Britain — that is, the impossibility of
keeping them neutral ; the fear of their joining the enemy ;
while the customs of savage warfare are so repulsive to all the
feelings of humanity and pride of the soldier, that it would
seem no palliation could be received for the crime of having
sanctioned them by example. Indians are active and service-
able when properly employed. They are the best defence
against Indians. Acquainted from their birth with wiles and
stratagems, they can trace the enemy, and tell its numbers, its
footsteps, when the eye of the white man cannot discover a
trace ; and the moving of grass or rushes, which would be unre-
garded by a regular soldier, as the natural effect of winds, leads
the Indian to be prepared for an ambush. The certainty that
Indians can be restrained when it is wished, reconciles the
opposite contradictions which are so often seen between the
complaints made by the Americans that the enemy employed
savages, at the very moment that they also employed them."*
The letter, it will be seen, was written a fortnight hefore the affair of
Concord and Lexington, which took place the 19th of April, when the first
blood was shed in the revolution.
* Allen's History of the American Eevolution, Vol. I., Chap, xiv., pp. 423,
424.
" Lord Suffolk, in his speech (in reply to Lord Chatham), undertook to
defend the employment of the savages. ' The Congress,' he said, ' endea-
voured to bring the Indians over to theii side, and if we had not employed
them they would most certainly have acted against us.' This statement,
which at the time was doubted or denied, has been, it must be owned, in no
small degree borne out by documents that have subsequently come to light.
Even several months later, we find Congress in treaty to engage several
parties of Indians in their service." (LordMahon's History, etc., Vol. VII.,
Chap. Ivi., p. 305.)
" See Washington's Writings, Vol. V., p. 273, and Appendix to Vol. III.,
p. 494. ' Divesting them,' says Washington, ' of the savage customs exercised
CHAP. XXXIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 81
It is thus clear that both parties courted the co-operation of
the Indians, and employed them to the utmost of their power ;
and therefore one party has no just ground of reproach against
or advantage over the other party for the inhuman policy of
enlisting the Indians in their cause, though the British had
larger means and greater facilities in securing this savage co-
operation.
It has been alleged, and no doubt truly, that the American
commanders restrained the cruel and plundering propensities of
the Indians, and the English commanders did the same ; but
neither tlie English nor the Americans were always able to
control their Indian allies on or after the day of battle.
American writers have, however, charged the outrages of the
Indians in the English army, and scouting parties, to the sanction
of the British generals,* and the prompting of the British
Loyalists, and some English writers have retorted the charge.
The employment of the Indians at all was against the judg-
ment of both General Burgoyne and Sir Guy Carleton,-f- and only
submitted to in obedience to the King's authority. As early as
the 11th of July, 1776, Burgoyne (while pursuing his enterprise
from Montreal to Albany) complains as follows of the con-
duct of the Indians to the Secretary of State : " Confidentially
to your Lordship, I may acknowledge that in several instances
I have found the Indians little more than a name. If, under
the management of their conductors, they are indulged for
interested reasons in all the caprices and humours of spoiled
children like them, they grow more unreasonable and importu-
nate upon every new favour. Were they left to themselves,
in their wars against each other, I think they may be made of excellent use
as scouts and light troops, mixed with our own parties.' But what more did
the English ever design or desire 1" (Lord Mahon's History, etc., Vol. VII.,
Chap. Ivi., p. 305.)
* Even so amiable and generous a man as Burgoyne did not escape these
imputations. " It may well be imagined that while Burgoyne was advancing,
declamations against his and the Indians' cruelty (for no distinction was ad-
mitted) were rife on the American side. By sucli means, and still more,
perhaps, by the natural spirit of a free-born people when threatened with
invasion, a resolute energy against Burgoyne was roused in the New England
States."— 76., p. 261.
t " Carleton from tbe first abhorred the measure of employing the Indians,
which he was yet constrained to promote." (Bancroft, Vol. VII., p. 119.)
VOL. II. — 6
82 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIII
enormities too horrid to think of would ensue ; guilty and
innocent, women and infants, would be a common prey."*
While the Indians were an incumbrance to Burgoyne's army
during his whole campaign, and forsook him in the eventful
hour when he most needed them, their barbarities contributed
* Quoted in Lord Mahon's History, Vol. VII., Chap. Ivi., p. 259. After
quoting this letter, Lord Mahou adds :
" It is due to Burgoyne to state, that from the first he had made most
strenuous exertions, both by word and deed, to prevent any such enormities.
The testimony, for example, of his aide-de-camp. Lord Petersham, when
examined before the House of Commons, is clear and precise upon that point.
(See Bvirgoyne's Narrative and Collection of Documents, pp. 65, 66, second
edition.) But in spite of all restraints, the cruel temper and lawless habits
of these savages would sometimes burst forth— sometimes not more fatally
to their enemies than to their friends. The tragical fate of Miss MacRea
raised one loud cry of indignation on both sides of the Atlantic. This lady,
in the bloom of youth and beauty, the daughter of an American Loyalist, was
betrothed to an officer in the British provincial J;roops. Anxious for her
security, the officer engaged some Indians to escort her from her home and
convey her to the British camp, where the marriage would be solemnized.
As a further precaution, he promised to reward the person who sljould bring
her safe to him with a barrel of rum. But this very precaution, as it seemed
to be, was the cause of the disaster which ensued. Two of the Indians who
took charge of her began a quarrel on the way, as to which of them should first
present her to the bridegroom. Each was eager for the rum ; each resolute
that his companion should not receive it in his place. At last one of them
in sudden fury raised his tomahawk, struck Miss MacRea upon the head,
and laid her a corpse at his feet. General Burgoyne at this news displayed
his utmost resentment and concern. He compelled the Indians to deliver
up the murderer, and designed to put him to death. He was only induced
to spare his life upon the Indians agreeing to terms which the General
thought would be more effectual than any execution, in deterring them from
similar barbarities. Deterred, indeed, they were. But when they found
themselves precluded from their expected delights of plundering and scalp-
ing, they began to desert and go home. Of nearly five hundred who at the
outset had joined Burgoyne, less than threescore at last remained beneath
his banner."— 16., pp. 259—261.
At the first general encampment of Burgoyne's army on the western side
of Lake Champlain, he met a deputation of the Indians in alliance with
Great Britain, and made an animated speech to them. " He exhorted them
to behave with courage and fidelity to their friends, and to avoid all barbarity
towards their enemies. He entreated them to be particularly careful in
distinguishing between the adherents and foes to the British nation. He
earnestly requested that they would put none to death but such as actually
opposed them with arms in their hands, and to spare old men, women,
CHAP. XXXIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 83
greatly to swell the revolutionary army, and to alienate great
numbers of Loyalists, weakening Burgoyne's army in the very
country where he expected most support from the inhabitants,
and giving the American general. Gates., a great preponderance
of strength over him — the army of Burgoyne being reduced to
3,500 men fit for actual service, while that of Gates was
increased to upwards of 16,000 fit for actual service.*
But if the British exceeded the Americans in gaining the
greater part of the Indians to their cause, and the correspond-
ing disgrace and disadvantage of their accompanying the army,
children, and prisoners ; to scalp only such as they had killed in action, and
to treat compassionately the wounded and dying. He promised them a
reward for every prisoner they brought in, but assured them lie would look
narrowly into every demand for scalps.'' (Dr. Andrews' History of the
Late War, Vol. II., Chap, xxviii., p. 383.)
* " The apprehensions of those who had been averse to the employment of
the Indians in the British army began to be justified. Notwithstanding the
care and precautions taken by General Burgoyne to prevent the effects of
their barbarous disposition, they were sometimes carried to an excess that
shocked his humanity — the more, as it was totally out of his power to control
them in the degree that he had hoped and proposed. The outrages they
committed were such as proved highly detrimental to the royal cause. They
spared neither friend nor foe, and exercised their usual cruelties with very
little attention to the threats that were held out in order to restrain and
deter them.
" Several instances of this nature happened about this time, which con-
tributed powerfully to alienate the minds of many from the cause in which
they served. One was recorded, in particular, that equally struck both parties
with horror. A young lady, the daughter of Mr. MacRea, a zealous royalist,
being on her way to the British army, where she was to be married to an
oflScer, unhappily fell into the hands of the Indians, who, without regarding
her youth and beauty, murdered her with many circumstances of barbarity.
" Scenes of this nature served to render the royal party extremel}" odious.
However the Americans might be conscious that the Indians were as offensive,
and as much abhorred by their enemies as by themselves, still they could
not forgive them the acceptance of such auxiliaries as must necessarily
disgrace the best cause.
" The resentment occasioned by the conduct of the Indians, and no less
the dread of being exposed to their fury, helped considerably to bring
recruits from every quarter to the American army. It was considered as the
only place of refuge and security at present. The inhabitants of the tracts
contiguous to the British army took up arms against it almost universally.
The preservation of their families was now become an object of immediate
concern. As the country was populous, they flocked in multitudes to the
84 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIII.
the Americans far outdid the English and the Indians them-
selves in the work of desolation and destruction. Dr. Ramsay-
remarks :
"The undisturbed tranquillity which took place in South
Carolina and the adjacent States after the British had failed in
their designs against them in the spring and summer of 1776,
gave an opportunity of carrying war into the Indian country.
This was done, not so much to punish what was past, as to
prevent all future co-operation between the Indians and British
in that quarter. Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and
Georgia sent about the same time a considerable force, which
traversed the Indian settlements, burned their towns, and
destroyed their fields of corn. Above 500 of the Cherokees
were obliged, from want of provisions, to take refuge in Florida,
and were fed at the expense of the British Government."*
It is to be observed that this was not an invasion of the
white settlements by the Indians, but an invasion of the Indian
settlements by the whites ; it was a " carrying war into the
Indian country ; " it was not provoked by the Indians, but
" was done to prevent all future co-operation between the
Indians and British in that quarter." Yet this war of invasion,
this war of precaution, was also a war more destructive to the
Indians than any which they, even under the French, had in-
flicted on the white colonists ; for not an Indian cornfield was
left undestroyed, nor an Indian habitation unconsumed.
American general's camp ; and he soon found himself at the head of an army
which, though composed of militia and undisciplined men, was animated
with that spirit of indignation and revenge which so often supplies all
military deficiencies." (Dr. Andrews' History of the Late War, Vol. II.,
Chap, xxviii., pp. 393, 394.)
* Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xix., p. 322.
CHAP. XXXIV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 85
CHAPTER XXXIV.
The Massacre of Wyoming — Four Versions op it by Accredited
American Historians, all Differing from Each Other — The
Facts Investigated, and False Statements Corrected.
It would be useless and tedious to attempt even a condensed
account of the battles and warfare in which the Indians took
part between the English and the Congress ; but there is one of
these revengeful and murderous occurrences which must be
minutely stated, and the American accounts of it thoroughly-
investigated, as it has been the subject of more misrepresenta-
tion, more declamation, more descriptive and poetic exaggeration,
and more denunciation against the English by American histo-
rians and orators than any other transaction of the American
revolution — namely, what is known as the " Massacre of Wyo-
ming." There are four versions of it, by accredited American
histories.
The account of this massacre is thus given in the words of
Dr. Ramsay's history :
" A storm of Indian and Tory vengeance burst in July, 1778,
with particular violence on Wyoming, a new and flourishing
settlement on the eastern branch of the Susquehanna. Un-
fortunately for the security of the inhabitants, the soil was
claimed both by Connecticut and Pennsylvania. From the
collision of contradictory claims, founded on Royal Charters,
the laws_ of neither were steadily enforced. In this remote
settlement, where government was feeble, the Tories were under
less control, and could easily assemble undiscovered. Never-
theless, twenty-seven of them were taken and sent to Hartford,
in. Connecticut, but they were afterwards released. These and
86 THE LOYALISTS OF AMEKICA [CHAP. XXXIV.
others of the same description, instigated by revenge against
the Americans, from whom some of them had suffered banish-
ment and loss of property, made common cause with the Indians,
and attacked the Wyoming settlement with their combined
forces, estimated at 1,100 men, 900 of whom were Indians.
The whole was commanded by Colonel John Butler, a Connec-
ticut Tory. One of the forts which had been constructed for
the security of the inhabitants, being very weak, surrendered to
this party ; but some of the garrison had retired to the principal
fort at Kingston, called Forty Fort. Colonel John Butler next
demanded the surrender thereof. Colonel Zebulon Butler,
a continental officer, who commanded, sent a message to him,
proposing a conference at a bridge without the fort. This
being agreed to. Colonel Zebulon Butler, Dennison, and some
other officers repaired to the place appointed, and they were
followed by the whole garrison, a few invalids excepted. None
of the enemy appeared. The Wyoming people advanced, and
supposed that the enemy were retiring. They continued to
march on till they were about three miles from the fort. They
then saw a few of the enemy, with whom they exchanged
a few shots ; but they presently found themselves ambuscaded
and attacked by the whole bodies of Indians and Tories.
They fought gallantly, till their retreat to the fort was cut off.
Universal confusion ensued. Out of 417 who had marched out of
the fort, about 360 were instantly slain. No quarter was given.
Colonel John Butler again demanded the surrender of Forty Fort.
This was agreed to, under articles of capitulation, by which
the effects of the people therein were secured to them. The
garrison, consisting of thirty men and two hundred women,
were permitted to cross the Susquehanna, and retreat through the
woods to Northampton county. The most of the other scattered
settlers had previously retired, some through the woods to
Northampton, others down the river to Northumberland. In
this retreat, some women were delivered of children in the
woods, and many suffered from want of provisions. Several
of the settlers at Wyoming had erected good houses and barns,
and made considerable improvements. These and the other
houses in the vicinity were destroyed. Their horses, cattle,
sheep, and hogs were, for the most part, killed or driven away
by the enemy. A large proportion of the male inhabitants
CHAP. XXXIV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 87
were in one day slaughtered. In a single engagement, near
two hundred women became widows, and a much greater
number of children were left fatherless." (Dr. Ramsay's History
of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xix., pp. 323, 324.)
REMARKS UPON DR. RAMSAY'S ACCOUNT.
Such is the account of this melancholy affair by Dr. Ramsay,
a friend of General Washington, and a distinguished officer in the
American army. Let us note Dr. Ramsay's admissions and his
omissions. He admits that the Tories or Loyalists had been
persecuted, imprisoned, plundered, and banished ; that no less
than twenty-seven of them had been taken, and sent to Hart-
ford, in Connecticut, but were afterwards released ; yet he might
have added that they were kept prisoners nearly a year, and
then discharged for want of any evidence against them. It is
also admitted that " others of the same description (as those
who had been sent prisoners to Connecticut) were instigated by
revenge against the Americans, from whom some of them had
suffered banishment and loss of property." It is likewise ad-
mitted that the whole invading party consisted of but 1,100
men, of whom only 200 were Tories, the remaining 900 being
Indians. But it is not stated that those Indians were neigrh-
hours, and many of them the connections of the northern tribes of
those Indians whose settlements had been invaded, their fields
and towns destroyed, as a precaution lest they should co-
operate with the British ; nor is it said that many of these
Indians were residents in the neighbourhood, and were treated
like the Tories.
It furthermore appears from this narrative that the Ameri-
cans in Wyoming were not even taken by surprise, but were
prepared for their enemy ; that none were killed except in the
conflict of the battle; that the thirty men and two hundred
women m the garrison were not murdered, but were " permitted
(with their effects) to cross the Susquehanna and retreat to
Northampton." The taking of the cattle and burning of the
houses and barns was after the example of the Americans
in invading and destroying the Indian settlements. It is
therefore clear, according to Dr. Ramsay's own narrative, that
the " Massacre of Wyoming " was not an unprovoked aggres-
sion, like that of the Americans against the more Southern.
88 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIV.
Indians, but a retaliation for injuries previously inflicted by
the aggressors.*
But as the " Massacre of Wyoming " is the case selected by
American historians and poets to exhaust their indignation
against English cruelty in employing the Indians in the civil
war, we will not dismiss it with the above cursory remarks,
but will examine it with some de<jree of minuteness.
Wyoming was a pleasant and fertile valley, situated on the
eastern branch of the Susquehanna, and consisted of eight
townships, live square miles each. It had been claimed as part
of Pennsylvania ; but Connecticut, relying upon the authority
of a more ancient Charter, had since the last war made a large
settlement on the banks of that beautiful river. " The
exquisitely beautiful valley of Wyoming, where, on the banks
of the Susquehanna, the wide and rich meadows, shu\r in by
walls of wooded mountains, attracted emigrants from Connecti-
cut, through their claim of right under the Charter of their
native colony, was in conflict with the territorial jurisdiction
of the proprietaries of Pennsylvania/'-f-
Such was the scene of a tragedy which thrilled all America
and Europe ; for the accounts published in Europe were the
repetitions of the exaggerated American statements, omitting
for the most part the causes of the tragedy and the retaliation
which followed it.
I will now present and collate the three other accounts, with
that of Dr. Ramsay, of those tragical events on both sides.
Mr. Bancroft states as follows :
" The Seneca tribe, fresh from the memory of their chiefs and
braves who fell in conflict with the New York husbandmen at
Oriskany. Their king, Sucingerachton, was, both in war and in
* " The aggressors on this occasion were a troop of wild Indians, in con-
junction with some Tory exiles. They were headed by Colonel Butler, a
partisan commander of note, and by Joseph Brant, a half Indian by birth, a
whole Indian in crueltj^ Unhappily, at Wyoming, tlie soil was claimed both
by Connecticut and Pennsylvania. From this conflict of pretensions and
consequent laxity of law, there had been the freer license for rigours against
the Loyalists. Few of them in that district but had undergone imprison-
ment, or exile, or confiscation of property ; and thus they were provoked to
form a savage alliance and to perpetrate a fierce revenge." (Lord Mahon's
History, etc., Vol. VII., Chap. Iviii., pp. 382, 383.)
t Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. V., Chap, ix., p. 165.
CHAP. XXXIV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 89
council, the foremost man of all the Six Nations. Compared
with him, the Mohawk Brant, who had been but lately known
upon the war-path, was lightly esteemed.* His attachment to
the English increased to a passion on the alliance of the
Americans with the French, for whom he cherished implacable
hate. Through his interest, and by the blandishments of gifts
and pay and chances of revenge. Colonel John Butler lured the
Seneca warriors to cross the border of Pennsylvania under the
British flag.
" The party of savages and rangers, numbering between five
hundred and seven hundred men, fell down the Tioga river, and
on the last day of June hid in the forests above Wyoming.
The next day the two northernmost forts capitulated. The
men of Wyoming, old and young, with one regular company,
in all hardly more than three hundred, took counsel with one
another, and found no hope of delivei-ance for their families
but through a victorious encounter with a foe twice their
number, and more skilful in the woods than themselves. On
the 3rd day of July, the devoted band, led by Colonel Zebulon
Butler, who had just returned from the continental service,
began their march up the river.-f- The horde of invaders,
pretending to retreat, crouched themselves on the ground in the
open wood. The villagers of Wyoming began firing as they
drew near, and at the third volley stood within a hundred
yards of the ambush, when the Seneca braves began the attack,
and were immediately seconded by the rangers. The Senecas
gave no quarter, and in less than half an hour took two hundred
and twenty-five scalps, among them those of two field oflScers
and seven captains. The rangers saved but five of their
captives. On the British side only two whites were killed and
eight Indians wounded. The next day the remaining forts,
filled chiefly with women and children, capitulated. The long
and wailing procession of survivors flying from their fields of
corn, their gardens, the flames of their cottages, the unburied
bodies of their beloved defenders, escaped by a pass through
* Brant was not at Wyoming. This appears from Butler's report ; and
compare Broadhead documents, Vol. VIII. , p. 572 (note by Mr. Bancroft).
t This is what Dr. Ramsay, in his account quoted above, on pages 85 and
86, erroneously states was a proposed conference as to terms of capitulation.
90 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIV.
the hills to the eastern settlements. Every fort and dwelling
was burned down.
" The Senecas spread over the surrounding country, adepts in
murder and ruin. The British leader boasted in his report that
his party had burned a thousand houses and every mill (a great
exaggeration). Yet, marauders came to destroy and deal deaths,
not to recover or hold ; and the ancient affection for 'England
was washed out in blood (more truly, the revenge for wrongs
previously received). When the leader of the inroad turned
to desolate other scenes, Pennsylvania was left in undisputed
possession of her soil." (Bancroft's History of the United
States, Vol. X., Chap, v., pp. 137, 138.)
Mr. Tucker briefly states the affair in the following words :
" The settlement of Wyoming, in Pennsylvania, was assailed
in July by a large body of savages, who, having obtained easy
possession of it, indiscriminately butchered both the garrison
and the inhabitants ; and soon afterwards Wilkesbarre shared
the same fate. Near three thousand had succeeded in effecting
their escape.*
" To prevent their return to the scenes of their former happi-
ness, everything that could contribute to their comfort — houses,
crops, animals — were, with an industry equal to their malignity,
destroyed by the savages." (Tucker's History of the United
States, Vol. I., Chap, iii., p. 239.)
The following account of the " Wyoming Massacre" appears
more intelligible and consistent than any of the preceding. Says
Mr. Hildreth :
" There had come in among the Connecticut settlers at
Wyoming a number of Dutch and Scotch from New York,
some thirty of whom, shortly after the commencement of the
war, had been seized under the suspicion of being Tories, and
sent to Connecticut for trial. They were discharged for want
of evidence ; but if not Tories before, they soon became so.
* Note. — Mr. Hildreth says that " W3^oming did not number three thousand
inhabitants." (History of the United States, Vol. III., Chap, xxxviii.,
p. 262.) The number of the slain could not have been greater than those
mentioned above by Dr. Ramsay (p. 86), who states that, instead of those
in the garrison being " indiscriminately butchered," they were allowed to
cross the Susquehanna and make their way through the woods to neighbour-
ing settlements.
CHAP. XXXIV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 91
Returning to the valley of the Mohawk, whence they had emi •
grated to Wyoming, they enlisted into the partisan corps of
Johnson and Butler, and waited eagerly for chances of revenge.
" Though Wyoming did not number three thousand inhabi-
tants, it had furnished two full companies (one writer says, a
thousand men) to the continental army, and had thus in a
manner deprived itself of the means of defence. Congress,
upon rumours of intended Indian hostilities, had ordered a third
company to be raised as a local garrison ; but this corps was as
yet hardly organized, and very imperfectly armed. Such was
the state of the settlement when there appeared at the head of
the valley an overwhelming force of Tories and Indians,
principally of the Seneca tribe of the Six Nations, led by
Colonel Butler. Some of the inhabitants were waylaid and
slain. The upper fort, held by disaffected persons, surrendered
at once. The continentals, with such others as could be
mustered, marched out to meet the enemy ; but they were
surrounded, defeated, and driven back with heavy loss, and
several who were taken prisonei's were put to death by the
Indians with horrible tortures. Those who escaped fled to
Fort Wyoming, which was speedily invested. The surviving
continentals, to avoid being taken prisoners, embarked and
escaped down the river ; after which the fort surrendered, upon
promise of security of life and property. Desirous to fulfil
these terms, Butler presently marched away with his Tories,
but he could not induce the Indians to follow. They remained
behind, burned the houses, ravaged the fields, killed such as
resisted, and drove the miserable women and children through
the woods and mountains to seek refuge where they might.
" These barbarities, greatly exaggerated by reports embodied
since in poetry and history, excited everywhere a lively indig-
nation. Wyoming was presently re-occupied by a body of
continental troops. A continental regiment of the Pennsyl-
vania line, stationed at Schoharie, penetrated to the neighbour-
ing branches of the Upper Susquehanna, and destroyed the
settlement of Unadilla, occupied by a mixed population of
Indians and refugees. The Indians and Loyalists soon took
their revenge by surprising Cherry Valley. The fort, which
had a continental garrison, held out ; Colonel Alden, who
lodged in the town, was killed, the lieutenant-colonel was made
92 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIV.
prisoner, and the settlement suffered almost the fate of Wyo-
ming." (Hildreth's History of the United States, Vol. III.,
Chap, xxxviii., pp. 262, 263.)
REMARKS ON THESE FOUR ACCOUNTS OF THE MASSACRE.
The attentive reader has doubtless observed that the four
versions given above, by four accredited American historians,
in regard to the " Massacre of Wyoming," differ from each
other in several essential particulars.
1. Two of these versions imply that the "massacre" was
a mere marauding, cruel, and murderous invasion of an
inoffensive and peaceful settlement ; while the other two
versions of Dr. Ramsay and Mr. Hildreth clearly show the
provocation and cruel wrongs which the Loyalists, and even
Indians, had experienced from the continentals and inhabi-
tants of Wyoming ; that the settlement of Wyoming was
the hot-bed of revolutionism, in which, out of three thousand
inhabitants, several hundred had voluntered into the conti-
nental army, while they, as may be easily conceived, insulted,
imprisoned, banished and confiscated the property of those
who regarded their oath of allegiance as inviolate as their
marriage vow, " for better for worse," until death released them
from it. Instead of treating a solemn oath as secondary to
caprice and passion, the Loyalists carried it to an excess of
integrity and conscience ; they were to be the more respected
and honoured, rather than made on that account criminals and
outlaws, subject to imprisonment and banishment of their
persons and the confiscation of their property.
2. Two of these four versions import that the inhabitants,
men, women, and children, were " indiscriminately butchered ;"
the other two versions import that none were "butchered"
except in battle, and none were " scalped " except those who
had fallen in battle.
3. In two of these versions it is stated that those who were
in the forts after their surrender were " massacred," without
respect to age or sex ; in the other two versions it is stated
that not one of them was massacred, but they were all per-
mitted to cross the Susquehanna with their effects.
4. In one of these versions, Colonel John Butler is repre-
CHAP. XXXIV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 93
sented as not only the commander of the whole party of
invasion, but the author of all the cruelties perpetrated in the
" massacre " of Wyoming ; yet Mr. Hildreth's statement shows
the reverse — that Colonel Butler had accepted the surrender
of Fort Wyoming "upon the promise of security to life and
property ;" that " desirous to fulfil these terms, he presently
marched away with his Tories ; but he could not induce the
Indians to follow ; " that " the depredations which followed were
inflicted by the Indians alone, and whom Colonel Butler could
not command, and against his remonstrance and example and
that of his Tories."
It is therefore plain that the accounts at the time of the
" Massacre of Wyoming," published by the Congress party,
were of the most exaggerated and inflammatory character, con-
taining the grossest misrepresentation, and doing the greatest
injustice to the leaders and conduct of the expedition, of which
accounts they had no knowledge, nor any means of correcting
them. These partial and shamefully exaggerated accounts and
misrepresentations were spread through Europe, and produced
the most unfavourable impression in regard to the " Tories "
and their mixture with the Indians — the only place of refuge
for them, as they were driven from their homes to escape
the sentences of death, imprisonment, or banishment, subject
in all cases, of course, to the destruction and confiscation
of their property. The English Annual Register for 1779,
after reproducing these unjust and inflated accounts, candidly
says :
" It is necessary to observe, with respect to the destruction of
Wyoming, that as no narrative of the exploits of the leaders
in that transaction, whether by authority or otherwise, has yet
appeared in this country, we can only rely for the authenticity
of the facts which we have stated upon the accounts published
by the Americans.
" Happy should we deem it, for the honour of humanity that,
the whole account was demonstrated to be a fabie." (Vol. IV.,
p. 14.)
The_ testimony furnished by the four versions of the transac-
tion by American historians shows how largely the original
accounts of it were fabulous.
94 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIV.
Since compiling and analysing the foregoing four historical
versions of the " Massacre of Wyoming," I have read Colonel
Stone's Life of Joseph Brant, Thayendanegea, including the
Border Wars of the American Revolution, and have care-
fully examined his account of the " Massacre of Wyoming."
Colonel Stone visited the place (1838), and obtained all the
information which the oldest inhabitants and family letters
could give, and examined all the papers in the State Paper
Office, and obtained much information from correspondence
and personal interviews with aged and distinguished inhabi-
tants, well acquainted with all the particulars of the alleged
" Massacre." The result of his researches was to justify the
hopes of the British Annual Register, quoted on previous page,
which, after having republished the American accounts of the
" Massacre," says : " Happy should we deem it, for the honour
of humanity, that the whole account were demonstrated to be
a fable."
This has been done by Colonel Stone after the lapse of more
than half a century. In the fifteenth chapter of the first volume
of his eloquent and exhaustive work he gives a history of the
settlement, and of the many years' wars between the rival claim-
ants of Connecticut and Pennsylvania — the former styled " the
Susquehanna Company," and the latter " the Delaware Com-
pany." The question was also complicated by Indian claims, as
the land had been once acquired by the Six Nations, and alleged
to have been sold to both companies. Many of the Mohawks
and other Indians resided in and near the settlement. On the
breaking out of the war, politics largely entered into the dis-
putes, and armed conflicts ensued, and no less than ten forts
were erected in the settlement.
According to Colonel Stone, the " Massacre " was not the
result of surprise, nor did it involve the indiscriminate massacre
of women and children, but was the result of a pitched battle
between the Loyalists and Continentals, in which the latter
were the assailants and were defeated, and whatever " massacre "
there was followed the battle.*
Colonel Stone, after having given an account of the battle, as
* Colonel Stone states that the Provincials " intended to make a quick
movement, and take the enemy by surprise ;" but their purpose was dis-
CHAP. XXXIV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 95
stated in previous note, and having corrected several erroneous
statements, makes the following correction of what had been
often written and generally believed respecting the famous
Chief Brant :
. " There is another important correction to be made in refe-
rence to every written history of this battle extant, not even
covered by an Indian scout. He then gives the following account of the
battle and of the " massacre " which followed :
" The Provincials pushed rapidly forward ; but the British and Indians
were prepared to receive them, ' their line being formed a small distance
in front of their camp, in a plain thinly covered with pine, shrub, oaks and
undergrowth, and extending from the river to a marsh at the foot of the
mountain' (Marshall). ' On coming in view of the enemy, the Americans, who
had previously marched in a single column, instantly deployed into a line
of equal extent, and attacked from right to left at the same time ' (Col. Z.
Butler's letter). ' The right of the Americans was commanded by Colonel
Zebulon Butler, opposed to Colonel John Butler, commanding the enemy's
left. Colonel Dennison commanded the left of the Americans, and was
opposed by the Indians forming the enemy's right ' (Chapman). Tlie battle
commenced at about forty rods distance, without much execution at the onset,
as the brusliwood interposed obstacles to the sight. Tlie militia stood the fire
well for a short time, and as they pressed forward there was some giving way
on the enemy's right. Unluckily, just at this moment the appalling war-
whoop of the Indians rang in the rear of the Americans' left ; the Indian
leader, having conducted a large party of his warriors through the marsh, suc-
ceeded in turning Dennison's flank. A heavy and destructive fire was simulta-
neously poured into the American ranks ; and amidst the conlusion, Colonel
Dennison directed his men to ' fall back,' to avoid being surrounded, and to
gain time to bring his men into order again. This direction was mistaken
for an order to ' retreat,' whereupon the whole line broke, and every effort ol
their officers to restore order was unavailing. At this stage of the battle,
and while thus engaged, the American officers mostly fell. The flight was
general. The Indians, throwing away their rifles, rushed forward with their
tomahawks, making dreadful havoc ; answering the cries for mercy with the
hatchet, and adding to the universal consternation those terrific yells which
invest savage warfare with tenfold horror. So alert was the foe in his bloody
pursuit, that less than sixty of the Americans escaped either the rifle or the
tomahawk. Of the militia officers, there fell one Lieutenant-colonel, one
major, ten captains, six lieutenants, and two ensigns. Colonel Durkee
and Captains Hewett and Ransom were likewise killed. Some of the
fugitives escaped by swimming the river, and others by flying to the moun-
tains. As the news of the defeat spread down the valley, the greater part of
the women and children, and those who had remained to protect them, like-
wise ran to the woods and mountains, while those who could not escape thus
96 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIV.
excepting the revised edition of the Life of Washington, by Chief
Justice Marshall. This correction regards the name and just
fame of Joseph Brant, whose character has been blackened with
all the infamy, both real and imaginary, connected with this
bloody expedition. Whether Captain Brant was at any time in
company with this expedition, is doubtful ; but it is certain, in
the face of every historical authority, British and American,
sought refuge in Fort Wyoming. The Indians, apparently wearied with
piirsuit and slaughter, desisted and betook themselves to secure the spoils of
the vanquished.
" On the morning of the 4th, the day after the battle, Colonel John Butler,
with the combined British and Indian forces, appeared before Fort Wyoming
and demanded its surrender. ' The inhabitants, both within and without the
fort, did not on that emergency sustain a character for courage becoming men
of spirit in adversity. They weie so intimidated as to give up without fight-
ing; great numbers ran off; and those who remained all but betrayed Colonel
Zel)ulun Butler, their conmumder' (Col. Z. Butlers letter). ' The British
Colonel Butler sent several flags, requiring an unconditional surrender of his
opposing nanjesake and the few continental troops yet remaining, but offering
to spare the inhabitants tlieir property and effects. But with the American
colonel the victor would not treat on any terms ; and the people thereupon
compelled Colonel Dennison to comply with conditions which his comman-
der had refused.' The consequence was that Colonel Zebulon Butler con-
trived to escape from the fort with the remains of Captain Hewett's company
of regulars {Idem.), and Colonel Dennison entered into articles of capitula-
tion. ' By these it was stipulated that the settlers should be disarmed, and
their garrison demolished ; that all prisoners and public stores should be
given up ; that the property of the people called Tories should be made
good, and they be permitted to remain peaceably upon their farms. In be-
half of the settlers it was stipulated that their lives and property should be
preserved, and that they should be left in the unmolested occupancy of their
farms' (Chapman's History).
' ' Unhappily, however, the British commander either could not or would
not enforce the terms of capitulation (see page 91, where Mr. Hildreth
says that ' Colonel Butler, desirous to fulfil these terms of capitulation,
presently marched aw^ay with his Tories, but he could not induce the
Indians to follow. They remained behind, burned the houses, ravaged the
fields, killed such as resisted, and drove the miserable women and cliildien
through the woods and mountains to seek refuge where they might.'), which
were to a great extent disregarded as well by the Tories as the Indians.
Instead of finding protection, the valley was again laid waste, the houses and
improvements were destroyed by fire, and the country plundered. Families
were broken up and dispersed, men and their wives separated, mothers torn
from their children and some of them carried into captivity, while far the
greater number fled to the mountains, and wandered throi gh the wilderness
CHAP. XXXIV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 97
that so far from being engaged in the battle, he was many miles
distant at the time of its occurrence. Such has been the
uniform testimony of the British officers engaged in the expedi-
tion, and such was always the word of Thayendanegea (Brant's
Indian name) himself. It will, moreover, be seen toward the
close of the present work that after the publication of Camp-
bell's ' Gertrude of Wyoming,' in which poem the Mohawk
chieftain is denounced as ' the Monster Brant,' his son repaired
to England, and in correspondence with the poet, successfully
vindicated his father's memory from the calumny." — Ih., p. 338.
To all this Colonel Stone adds the following important note.
He says : " Since the present chapter was written, and while
the work was under revision, the author received a letter from
Mr. Samuel C. Frey, of Upper Canada, a son of the late Philip
Frey, Esquire, a Loyalist of Tryon County, who was ensign
in H. B. M.'s Eighth Regiment, and who, with his regiment,
was engaged in the campaign and battle of Wyoming Philip
B. Frey, the ensign spoken of, died at Palatine, Montgomery
(formerly Tryon) County, in 1823. It was his uniform testimony
that Brant was not at Wyoming. Mr. Frey writes to the author
that there were no chiefs of any notoriety with the Indians in
that expedition, and that the Indians themselves were led from
Detroit by Captain Bird, of the Eighth Regiment. Bird had
been engaged in a love affair at Detroit, but being very
ugly, besides having a hare-lip, was unsuccessful. The affair
getting wind, his fellow-officers made themselves merry
at his expense ; and in order to steep his grief in f orget-
fulness, he obtained permission to lead an expedition some-
where against the American frontier. Joining the Indians
placed under him and a detachment of his regiment to Butler's
Rangers, they concerted the descent upon Wyoming. Ensign
Frey stated that Bird was ill-natured during the whole march,
to the older settlements. Some died of their wounds, others from want
and fatigue, while others were still lost in the wilderness or were heard of
no more. Several perished in a great swamp in the neighbourhood, which,
fi'om the circumstance, acquired the name of ' the Shades of Death,' and
retains it to this day. These were painful scenes. But it does not appear
that anything like a massacre followed the capitulation." (Life of Joseph
Brant, and Border Wars of the American Eevolution, Vol. I., Chap, xv.,
pp. 334—336.)
VOL. II. — 7
9 b THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIV.
and acted with foolhardiness at the battle. He further stated,
according to the letter of his son, that the American colonel chal-
lenged them to a fair field-fight, which challenge was accepted.
'The next morning, about nine o'clock, the Americans poured
out of the fort, about 340 in number; the Indians fell back
over a hill ; the troops on both sides drew up in battle array
and soon commenced. After a few rounds fired, the American
colonel ordered his drum-major to beat a charge ; the drum-
major mistook the order, and beat a retreat ; the Americans
became disordered immediately, and ran helter-skelter; the
moment the Indians saw them running, they poured down
upon them from their hiding-places, so that no more than
about forty survived out of 340.' "
" Rarely, indeed," adds Colonel Stone, " does it happen that
history is more at fault in regard to facts than in the case of Wyo-
ming. The remark may be applied to nearly every writer who
has attempted to narrate the events connected with the inva-
sion of Colonel John Butler. Ramsay and Gordon and Marshall
— nay, the British historians themselves have written gross ex-
aggerations. Marshall, however, in his revised edition, has made
corrections, and explained how and by whom he was led into
error. My excellent friend, Charles Miner, Esq., long a resident
of Wyoming, a gentleman of letters and great accuracy, fur-
nished the biographer of Washington with a true narrative of
the transactions which he made the basis of the summary
account contained in his revised edition. Other writers, of
greater or less note, have gravely recorded the same fictions,
adding, it is to be feared, enormities not even conveyed to them
by tradition. The grossest of these exaggerations are contained
in Thatcher's Military Journal and in Drake's Book of the
Indians. The account of the marching out of a large body of
the Americans from one of the forts to hold a parley, by agree-
ment, and then being drawn into an ambuscade and all put to
death, is false ; the account of seventy continental soldiers being-
butchered after having surrendered, is totally untrue. No
regular troops surrendered, and all escaped who survived the
battle of the 3rd. Equally untrue is the story of the burning
of the houses, barracks, and forts, filled with women and
children."— 76., p. 338, 339.
CHAP. XXXV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 99
CHAPTER XXXV.
American Retaliation for the Alleged "Massacre of Wyoming,"
as narrated by american historians.
We will now state from the same historical authorities the
revenge which the continentals took for the " Massacre of
Wyoming."
Dr. Ramsay says : " Soon after the destruction of the
Wyoming settlement, an expedition was carried on against the
Indians by Colonel Zebulon Butler, of the Pennsylvania troops.
He and his party having gained the head of the Delaware,
October 1st, marched down the river two days, and then struck
across the country to the Susquehanna. They burnt or de-
stroyed the Indian villages both in that quarter and the other
settlements ; but the inhabitants escaped. The destruction was
extended for several miles on both sides of the Susquehanna.
They completed the expedition in sixteen days."*
* Dr. Ramsay's History of tlie United States, Vol. II., Chap, xix., p. 325.
" About four weeks after Colonel Zebulon Butler's return, some hundreds
of Indians, a large body of Tories, and about fifty regulars, entered Cherry
Valley, within the State of New York. They made an unsuccessful attempt
on Fort Alden ; but they killed and scalped thirty-two of the inhabitants,
mostly women and children; and also Colonel Alden and ten soldiers." — Ih.,
p. 325. Then, on the side of the continentals, " Colonel G. Van Shaick, with
fifty-five men, marched from Fort Schuyler to the Onondago settlements, and
on the 19th of April, 1779, burnt the whole, consisting of about fifty houses,
together with a large quantity of provisions. Horses and stock of every kind
were killed. The arms and ammunition of the Indians were either
destroyed or brought oft', and their settlements were laid waste. Twelve
Indians were killed and thirty-four made prisoners. This expedition was
performed in less than six days, and without the loss of a man." — Ih., pp.
326, 327.
100 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV,
This destruction of " Indian villages " and "other settlements"
to the extent of " several miles on both sides of the Susque-
hanna " was more than an equivalent revenge for the destruc-
tion of Wyoming. But it was only the beginning of vengeance
and destruction, not only against the immediate offenders in the
case of Wyoming, but the pretext for a resolution and order of
Congress itself for the entire destruction of the Six Indian
Nations, though their chiefs had held no council and given no
order as to the attack upon the settlement of Wyoming, and
had nothing to do with it, except that one of their tribes, with
possibly a few stragglers from some of the other tribes. With
this exception, as is shown by the narratives above quoted, the
Six Nations had no connection with the destruction of
Wyoming ; were living quietly and industriously on their well-
cultivated farms, though friendly to the royal cause. Yet Con-
gress, by an order which, we believe, has no parallel in the
annals of any civilized nation, commands the complete destruc-
tion of those people as a nation. It is cruel, indeed, and revolt-
ing to humanity, to kill and scalp ever so small a number of
individuals, including women and children ; but is it less cruel
and revolting to render them houseless by thousands, to de-
stroy the fruits of their labours, to exile them from their homes
(after having destroyed them), and leave them to nakedness and
starvation ? Yet such was the case in tl^ execution of the order
of Congress for the extermination of the Six Nations.
" The determination," says Dr. Andrews, " was now taken by
Congress to destroy this Indian nation. * * The intelligence
of the preparations that were making against them was received
by the Indians with great courage and firmness. * * They
took a strong position in the most woody and mountainous part
of the country, which they fortified with great judgment. * *
General Sullivan attacked them in this encampment on the 29th
of August. They stood a hot cannonade for more than two
hours ; but the breastwork of logs being almost destroyed, and
the Americans having reached the top of the hill on their left,
they were apprehensive of being surrounded, and retreated imme-
diately with the utmost speed. * * The behaviour of the Indians
on this day was very courageous ; they returned the fire of the
Americans with great spirit and regularity ; and would, it was
thought, have maintained their ground had not the Americans
OHAP. 2^XXV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 101
been provided with a train of artillery, to which the defeat of the
Indians was principally owing. * * This engagement proved
decisive. After their trenches were forced, they fled without
making any further endeavour to rally. They were pursued
two or three miles ; but their flight was so swift that they
could not be overtaken. Their loss in slain and wounded was
very considerable, though few prisoners were made.
" The consternation occasioned among the Indians by this
defeat was such, that they lost all hope of retrieving their
fortunes, and dropped all idea of further resistance. As the
Americans advanced, they retreated before them with the
utmost precipitation, and suffered them to proceed, without any
obstruction, in the destructive operations they were commis-
sioned to perform.
" In pursuance of the orders he had received, General Sulli-
van penetrated into the heart of the country inhabited by the
Five Nations, spreading everywhere the most extensive desola-
tion. His letter to the Congress, giving an account of the pro-
gress and proceedings of the army under his command, was as
complete a journal of destruction as ever was penned. No less
than forty towns and settlements were destroyed, besides
detached habitations. All their fields of corn and all their
orchards and plantations ; whatever, in short, was in a state of
cultivation, underwent the same fate. The devastation was such,
that on the American army's leaving that country not a house
was left standing to their knowledge, nor an Indian to be seen.
"Such was the issue of this celebrated expedition, under-
taken by way of retaliation for the outrages which the Indians
(Senecas) had committed on the frontiers, and particularly in
destroying the unfortunate settlement of Wyoming dvmng the
preceding summer.
" What rendered this total ruin of the country possessed by
the Five Nations the more remarkable was the degree of know-
ledge and expertness in agriculture and in various domestic
arts to which it was now for the first time discovered that
the Indians had attained. It appeared by General Sullivan's
account that the lands about the towns were excellently culti-
vated, and their houses large and elegantly constructed. The
extent of their industry may be conjectured by his asserting
that the quantity of corn destroyed could not, by a moderate
L02 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV.
computation, amount to less than 100,000 bushels ; that their
orchards were so well stocked that no less than 1,500 trees
were cut down in one orchard only, numbers of which had evi-
dently been planted many years ; and that their garden grounds
contained immense quantities of vegetables of every kind."*
Mr. Bancroft represents what he in one place terms " the
great expedition" as a mere raid for the chastisement of the
Seneca Indians. He says : " Moved by the massacres of Wyo-
ming and Cherry Valley, Congress, on the 25th of February,
had directed Washing-ton to protect the inland frontiers and
chastise the Seneca Indians. * * The best part of the season
was gone when Sullivan, on the last of July, moved from
Wyoming. His arrival at Tioga sent terror to the Indians. * *
Several of the chiefs said to Colonel Bolton, in council, ' Why
does not the great king, our father, assist us ? Our villages
will be cut off, and we can no longer fight his battles.'
" On the 22nd of August, the day after he was joined
by New York troops under General James Clinton, Sullivan
began his march up the Tioga into the heart of the Indian
country. On the same day, Little David, a Mohawk chief,
delivered a message from himself and the Six Nations to
General Haldimand, then Governor of Canada : ' Brother ! for
these three years past the Six Nations have been running a
race against fresh enemies, and are almost out of breath. Now
we shall see whether you are our loving strong brother, or
whether you deceive us. Brother ! we are still strong for the
King of England, if you will show us that he is a man of his
word, and that he will not abandon his brothers the Six
Nations.' * * The march into the country of the Senecas, on
the left, extended to Genesee ; on the right, detachments reached
Cayuga lake. After destroying eighteen villages and their
fields of corn, Sullivan, whose army had suffered for want of
supplies, returned to New Jersey."-)*
* Dr. Andrews' History of the Late War, Vol. III., Chap, xli., pp. 436
—439.
t Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. X., Chap, x., pp. 230, 231,
232.
Mr. Bancroft's tame account of " the great expedition" against the Five
Nations, limiting it to a chastisement of the Senecas, can only be accounted
for from his contempt of General Sullivan, his desire to pass over as slightly
CHAP. XXXV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 103
Mr. Hildreth's account of this expedition, though brief, is
more comprehensive and satisfactory than that of Mr. Bancroft.
Mr. Hildreth says :
" The command of the enterprise against the Indians, declined
by Gates, was given to Sullivan. Three brigades from the
main army, under Poor, Hand, and Maxwell — New Hampshire,
Pennsylvania, and New Jersey troops — were assembled at Wyo-
ming. A New York brigade ('upwards of 1,000 men,' says
Dr. Pamsay), under General James Clinton, hitherto employed
in guarding the frontier of that State, crossed from the Mohawk
to Lake Otsego (one of the sources of the Susquehanna), dammed
the lake, and so raised its level, and then by breaking away the
dam produced an artificial flood, by the aid of which the boats
were rapidly carried down the north-east branch of the Susque-
hanna, to form a junction with Sullivan. * *
" Sullivan's army, amounting to 5,000 men, passed up the
Chemung branch of the Susquehanna. At Newton, now
Elmira, they encountered a strong body of the enemy,* partly
Indians and partly Tories, under Brant, the Butlers and Johnson,
entrenched on a rising ground and disposed in ambuscade.
Sullivan detached Poor to gain the rear, while he attacked them
in front with artillery. Having put them to rout, he crossed to
as possible an expedition of destruction so disproportionate to the alleged
cause of it, and against a whole rural and agricultural people for the alleged
depredations of some of them. There were, as might be expected, marauding
parties along the borders on the part of both the Indians and Americans,
but the former always seem to have suffered more, and the latter to have
excelled the former in their own traditionary mode of savage warfare.
" Other expeditions," says Mr. Holmes, " besides this decisive one were
conducted against the Indians in course of the year. In A]3ril, Colonel Van
Shaick, with fifty-five men, marched from Fort Schuyler, and burnt the
whole Onondago settlements, consisting of about fifty houses, with a large
quantity of provisions, killed twelve Indians and made thirty-four prisoners,
without the loss of a single man. In the month of August, Colonel Broad-
head made a successful expedition against the Mingo, Mu.nsey, and Seneca
Indians." (American Annals, Vol. II., p. 302.)
* Mr. Bancroft says that " the British Eangers and men of the Six
Nations (who constructed the defensive breastwork at Newton) imre in all
about 800." (History of the United States, Vol. X., Chap, x., p. 232.)
It was certainly no great feat of military courage and skill for 5,000 men,
with the aid of artillery, to defeat and disperse 800 Indians and Tories,
without artillery, and then ravage and devastate an undefended country.
104 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV.
the hitherto unexplored valley of the Genesee. That want of
food might compel the Indians and their Tory allies to emigrate,
everything was ravaged. The ancient Indian orchards were cut
down; many bushels of corn were destroyed, and eighteen
villages, composed largely of frame houses, were burned. Pro-
visions failed. Such at least was the reason that Sullivan gave,
and the attack upon Niagara, the great object of the enterprise,
was abandoned.
"A simultaneous expedition from Pittsburg ascended the
Alleghany, and visited with similar devastation all the villages
along the river. Pending these operations, and to prevent any
aid from Canada, divers artifices were employed by Washington
to create the belief of an intended invasion of that province."*
The account of this expedition given by Dr. Ramsay cor-
responds, with some additional particulars, with that given by
Dr. Andrews, as above quoted, and almost in the same words.
He says :
" The Indians who form the confederacy of the Six Nations,
commonly called Mohawks, were the objects of this expedition.
They inhabit that immense and fertile tract of country which
lies between New England, the Middle States, and the Province
of Canada. * * The Indians, on hearing of the expedition pro-
jected against them, acted with firmness. They collected their
strength, took possession of proper ground, and fortified it with
judgment. General Sullivan, on the 29th of August, attacked
them in their works. They stood a cannonade for more than
two hours, but then gave way. This engagement proved
decisive. After the trenches were forced, the Indians fled with-
out making any attempt to rally. The consternation occasioned
among them by this defeat was so great, that they gave up all
ideas of further resistance. As the Americans advanced into
their settlements, the Indians retreated before them, without
throwing any obstruction in their way. General Sullivan
penetrated into the heart of the country inhabited by the
Mohawks, and spread desolation everywhere. Many settlements
in the form of towns were destroyed. All their fields of corn,
and whatever was in a state of cultivation, underwent the same
* Hildreth's History of the United States, Vol. III., Chap, xxxlx., pp.
287—289,
CHAP. XXXV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 105
fate. Scarcely anything in the form of a house was left stand-
ing, nor was an Indian to be seen.
" To the surprise of the Americans, they found the lands about
the Indian towns well cultivated, and their houses both large
and commodious. The quantity of corn destroyed was immense.
Orchards, in which were several hundred fruit trees, were cut
down ; and of them many appeared to have been planted for a
long series of yeai^s. Their gardens, replenished with a variety
of useful vegetables, were laid waste."*
* Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xix., pp. 327 —
329.
We will select from the same historian, though the same facts may be
found in other histories of the time, a few examples in addition to those
already given of the terrible retrilnition which the Americans inflicted upon
the Indians in retaliation for any incursions which they may have made into
the white settlements.
"The Cherokee Indians made an incursion into Ninety-Six district, in
South Carolina, massacred some families and burned several houses. General
Pickens, in 1781, collected a party of the militia, and penetrated into their
country. This he accomplished in fourteen days, at the head of 394 horse-
men. In that short s]3ace he burned thirteen towns and villages, killed
upwards of forty Indians, and took a number of prisoners. Not one of his
party was killed, and only two were wounded. The Americans did not
expend over two pounds of ammunition, and yet only three Indians escaped
after having been once seen. * *
" Towards the end of the war, in 1782, there was a barbarous and un-
provoked massacre of some civilized Indians who had settled near the
Muskingum. These, under the influence of some pious missionaries of the
Moravian persuasion, had be^n formed into some degree of religious order.
They abhorred war, and would take no part therein, giving for a reason that
' the Great Spirit did not make men to destroy men, but to love and assist
each other.' From love of peace they advised those of their own colour, who
were bent on war, to desist from it. They were also led from humanity
to inform the white people of their danger, when they knew their settlements
were about to be invaded. This provoked the hostile (American) Indians to
such a degree, that they carried these quite away from Muskingum to a bank
of the Sandusky Creek. They, finding corn dear and scarce in their new
habitations, obtained liberty to come back in the fall of the same year to
Muskingum, that they might collect the crops they had planted before their
removal.
" While the white (American) people at and near the Monongahela heard
tliat a number of Indians were at the Moravian towns on the Muskingum,
they gave out that their intentions were hostile. Without anj^ furtlier
enc[uiry, 160 of them crossed the Ohio, and put to death these harmless,
106 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV.
From this review of the invasions and contests between the
Americans and Indians, it is clear that the Indians were the
greater sufferers in life and property. The mutual hatreds of
former years, when the colonies were warring with the French
(instead of being, as now, in alliance with them), and the
Indians were in the interest and service of the French, seems
to have been perpetuated on both sides, and to have become
more intense on the part of the Americans after the failure of
inoffensive people, though they made no resistance. In conformity to their
religions principles, these Moravians submitted to their hard fate, Avithout
attempting to destroy tlieir murderers. Upwards of ninety of this pacific
race were killed by men who, while they called themselves Christians, were
more deserving of the name of savages than those whom they inhumanly
murdered." (Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xix.,
pp. 330—332.)
Mr. Hildreth gives the following account of the proceedings of the eighty
or ninety men who murdered the peaceful Indians : " Arrived at the middle
Moravian village, they found a party of Christian Indians gathering corn.
The Indians at another neighbouring village were sent for, and the whole
were placed together in two houses. A council was then held to decide upon
their fate. Williamson, their commander, heretofore accused of too great
lenity to the Indians, referred the matter to his men. Only sixteen voted
for mercy ; all the rest, professing a faith common on the frontier, that ' an
Indian has no more soul than a buffalo,' were for murder. They rushed on
their prey, scalping-knife in hand, and upwards of ninety Indians, men,
women, and children, soon lay bleeding and gasping." (History of the
United States, Vol. III., Chap. Ixv., p. 423.)
" Soon after this unprovoked massacre, a party of Americans set out for
Sandusky, to destroy the Indian towns in that part ; but the Delawares,
Wyandots, and other Indians opposed them.- An engagement ensued, in
which some of the white people were killed, and several were taken prisoners.
Among the latter were Colonel Crawford and his son-in-law. The colonel
was sacrificed to the manes of those Indians who were massacred in the
Moravian towns. The other prisoners were jjut to death with the toma-
hawk.
" Throughout the American war, the desolation brought by the Indians on
the frontier settlements of the United States, and on the Indians by the
Americans, was sufficient to excite compassion in the most obdurate heart.
" Not only men and warriors, but women and children indiscriminately
murdered, while whole settlements were involved in promiscuous desolation.
Each was made a scourge to the other ; and the unavoidable calamities of
war were rendered doubly distressing by the dispersion of families, the
breaking up of settlements, and an addition of savage cruelties, to the most
extensive devastation of those things which conduce to the comfort of human
life."
CHAP. XXXV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 107
their efforts to secure the Indians to their side. The old con-
tests between the Southern colonists and the Indians were
renewed and repeated with intense bitterness ; and in the
Northern colonies the policy of Congress and its agents was
to crush and exterminate the Indians altogether. In acts of
individual cruelty, their historical and characteristic mode of
war, the Indians exceeded the Americans ; but in acts of
wholesale destruction of life and property, the Americans far
outdid the Indians, adopting the Indian instead of a civilized
mode of warfare, and including in their sweep of destruction
women and children as well as men.
The employment of Indians at all on the part of Great Britain
against the colonists, is, in our opinion, the blackest crime re-
corded in the annals of the British Government, prompted
apparently by the cowardly and execrable General Gage, but
condemned by Generals Carleton and Burgoyne, as well as by
General Howe. The use, however, which the Americans sought
to make of the Indians, and their cruel and exterminating mode
of warfare against them, leave them no ground of boasting on
the score of humanity against either the British Government or
the Indians.
To this may be added the unfortunate condition and treat-
ment of the Loyalists or " Tories" among the Indians. For
adhering, or suspected of adhering to the faith of their fathers,
and even of the present persecution down to within less than
six years, they were, however peaceably they might be living,
driven from their homes and their property seized and alienated,
and they left no place for the soles of their feet except among
the Indians, and then termed monsters and treated as traitors,
for joining their protectors in the defence of their places of
refuge, and, as far as possible, for the recovery of their homes.
What else, as men, as human beings, could they do ? They
were denied and banished from the homes which they had,
unless they would reverse their political faith and oath of
allegiance, and forswear allegiance, to enrol themselves in arms
against the country of their forefathers and of their affection.
They could not but be chafed with the loss of their freedom of
speech and of conviction of their citizenship and their property,
and of being driven into exile ; and they must have been more
or less than men had they not acted loyally and to the best of
108 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV.
their ability with their protectors, however abhorrent to their
views and feelings were many acts of the Indians — acts imi-
tated and even excelled, in so many respects, by the Americans
themselves, in their depredations into the Indian territories.
Colonel Stone's Account, in Detail, of General Sullivan's Expe-
dition OP Exteemination op the Six Nations op Indians.
In his Life of Brant, including the Border Wars of the
American Revolution, Colonel Stone gives a much more elabo-
rate account of this expedition of destruction against the Six
Nations, or rather the Five Nations, for the Oneidas and some
of the Tuscaroras joined the Americans. Colonel Stone nar-
rates the progress and work of General Sullivan from place to
place. We will add a few extracts from his narrative, after
some preliminary explanations.
Colonel Stone corrects a very common error, which views the
whole race of North American Indians as essentially alike —
" all as the same roving, restless, houseless race of hunters and
fishermen, without a local habitation and with scarce a name,"
He gives examples of the varieties of Indian character, not less
marked than between the English and the French — some follow-
ing the buffalo in his migrations, others finding a precarious
subsistence in the forest chase, others again fishing and trapping ;
tribes who pass most of their time in canoes, while others, wood-
land tribes, cultivate the soil, and gradually become organized,
and acquire a higher state of civilization, and present a marked
difference of character and taste from the hunter and fishermen
tribes. " This higher state of social organization among the
Six Nations," says Colonel Stone " greatly increased the differ-
ence. They had many towns and villages giving evidence of
perseverance. They were organized into communities whose
social and political institutions, simple as they were, were still
as distinct and well-defined as those of the American Con-
federacy. They had now acquired some arts, and were enjoying
many of the comforts of civilized life. Not content with small
patches of cleared lands for the raising of a few vegetables,
they possessed cultivated fields and orchards of great pro-
ductiveness at the West. Especially was this the fact with
regard to the Cayugas and Senecas. The Mohawks havino-
CHAP. XXXV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 109
■been driven from their own rich lands (in the valley of the
Mohawk and Susquehanna rivers), the extensive domains of
the westernmost tribes of the confederacy (in the Genesee
country) formed the granary of the whole. And in conse-
quence of the superior social and political organization just re-
ferred to, and the Spartan-like character incident to the forest
life, the Six Nations, though not the most numerous, were
beyond doubt the most formidable of the tribes then in alliance
with the Crown. It was justly considered, therefore, that the
only way to strike theini effectively would he to destroy their
homes and the growing produce of their farms, and thus, hy
cutting off their means of supply, drive them jrom their oivn
country deeper into the interior, and perhaps throw them
altogether upon their British allies for subsistence."
These facts will go far to account for the desire of the
Mohawks to recover the homes from which they had been
driven, and for the relations between the Six Nations to the
Crown of Great Britain and the revolting portion of the
colonists.
It has been intimated that the Oneida Indians and part of
the Onondagos adhered to the revolting colonists. Colonel
Stone observes : " It was the intention of General Sullivan that
General Clinton should employ in his division as large a number
of the Oneida warriors as could be induced to engage in the
service. The latter officer was opposed to this arrangement ; but
through the importunities of Sullivan, the Rev. Mr. Kirkland,
their missionary, who was now a chaplain in the army, had been
summoned to Albany for consultation. From thence Mr. Kirk-
land was despatched to Pennsylvania, directly to join Sullivan's
division; while to Mr. Deane, the interpreter connected with
the Indian Commissioner at Fort Schuyler (formerly Fort
Stanwix), was confided the charge of negotiating with the
Oneida chiefs on the subject. The Oneidas volunteered for
the expedition almost to a man ; while those of the Onondagos
who adhered to the cause of the Americans were equally desir-
ous of proving their fidelity by their deeds. Under these
circumstances, Clinton wrote to Sullivan on the 26th, that on
the following Saturday Mr. Deane, with the Indian warriors,
would join him at the head of the lake. A sudden revolution,
however, was wrought in their determination by an address to
110 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV.
the Oneidas from General Haldimand (Governor of Canada),
received at Fort Schuyler the 22nd. This document was trans-
mitted to them in their own language ; and its tenor was so
alarming as to induce them suddenly to change their purpose,
judging very correctly, from the threats of Haldimand, that their
presence was necessary at home for the defence of their own
castles. Still Mr. Deane wrote that an arrangement was on foot
by which he hoped to obtain the co-operation of a considerable
number of the Oneida warriors."
" General Haldimand's address was written in the Iroquois
(Mohawk) language, of which a translation was made by Mr.
Deane and enclosed to General Clinton."
In this address General Haldimand charged the Oneida
Indians with having " taken a different course from the rest of
the Five Nations, your confederates, and have likewise deserted
the King's cause through the deceitful machinations and snares
of the rebels, who intimidated you with their numerous armies,
by which means you became bewildered and forgot all your
engagements with and former care and favour from the Great
King of England, your Father. You also soon forgot the
frequent bad usage and continual encroachments of the
Americans upon the Indian lands throughout the continent. I
say, therefore, that at the breaking out of these troubles, you
firmly declared to observe a strict neutrality in the dispute,
and made your declaration known to Sir Guy Carleton, my
predecessor, who much approved of it, provided you ivere in
earnest* I have hitherto strictly observed and examined your
conduct, and find that you did not adhere to your assertion,
although I could trace no reason, on the side of Government
as well as the Indians, why you should act so treacherous
and double a part ; by which means we, not mistrusting your
fidelity, have had many losses among the King's subjects, and
the Five Na,tions, your friends and connections."
* The biographer of Brant and historian of the Border Wars of the
American Revolution thinks that Sir Guy Carleton was not opposed to the
employment of the Indians in the war with the Congress (Vol. I., pp. 89, 90),
and quotes Brant as his authority ; but General Haldimand (who himself
favoifred the employment of the Indians in the war) appears to be the
safest interpreter of the views of Sir Guy Carleton, who intended, by the
friendly alliance of the Indians with the King, that they should be neutral.
CHAP. XXXV.] AND THEIR TIMES, 111
After further reproaches, admonitions, and threatenings,
General Haldimand concluded in the following severe words :
" These are facts, Brothers, that, unless you are lost to every
sense of feeling, cannot but recall in you even a most hearty
repentance and deep remorse for your past vile actions."
The effect of General Haldimand's address was to cause
a conference — Mr. Deane, at the head of thirty-five Oneida
warriors — with General Clinton, to apologize for the absence of
their brethren from the expedition, and to make those explana-
tions in regard to their own situation already communicated
by Mr. Deane by letter, together with the address of General
Haldimand. In his reply, General Clinton, among other things,
said : " It is not my desire that the whole of your warriors should
leave their castles. I have given a general invitation to our
brethren the Oneidas, the Tuscaroras, and such of the Onondagos
as have entered into friendship with us. In order to give all our
Indian friends an equal chance of evidencing their spirit and
determination to partake of our fortune, I am entirely satisfied
that such only should join me as think proper."
Colonel Stone, after stating that on the 22nd of August
General Clinton arrived at Tioga, and formed a junction with
General Sullivan, says : " The entire command amounted to
5,000, consisting of the brigades of Generals Clinton, Hand,
Maxwell, and Poor, together with Proctor's artillery and a
corps of riflemen." Then, after relating the battle of Newton
(the present site of Elmira), as described in extracts from the
historians in previous pages. Colonel Stone narrates the pro-
gress and work of the invading army of extermination and
destruction. We give the following extracts from his nar-
rative :
" It is apprehended that but few of the present generation are
thoroughly aware of the advances which the Indians, in the wide
and beautiful country of the Cayugas and Senecas, had made in
the march of civilization. They had several towns and many
large villages laid out with a considerable degree of regularity.
They had framed houses, some of them well furnished, having
chimneys, and painted. They had broad and productive fields ;
and in addition to an abundance of apples, were in the enjoyment
of the pear, and the still more delicious peach. But after the
battle of Newton, the Indians everywhere fled at Sullivan's
112 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV
advance, and the whole country was swept as with a besom
of destruction. On the 4th (September), as the army advanced,
they destroyed a small settlement of eight houses, and two
days afterwards reached the more considerable town of Kendaia,
containing about twenty houses, neatly built and well finished.
These were reduced to ashes, and the army spent nearly a day
in destroying the fields of corn and the fruit trees. Of these
there were great abundance, and many of them appeared to be
ancient."
" On the 7th, Sullivan crossed the outlet of Seneca Lake, and
moved in three divisions upon the town of Kanadaseagea, the
Seneca capital, containing about sixty houses, with gardens and
numerous orchards of apple and peach trees. It was Sullivan's
object to surround the town and take it by surprise. But
although Butler had endeavoured to induce the Indians to make
a stand at the place, his importunities were of no avail.
They said it was no use to contend with such an army ; and
their capital was consequently abandoned as the other towns
had been before the Americans could reach it. A detachment
of 400 men was sent down on the west side of the lake to destroy
Gotheseunquean, and the plantations in the neighbourhood; while
at the same time a number of volunteers, under Colonel Harper,
made a forced march in the direction of Cayuga Lake, and
destroyed Schoyere. Meantime the residue of the army was
employed, on the 8th, in the destruction of the town, together
with the fruit trees and fields of corn and beans. Here, as else-
where, tlie work of destruction was thorough and complete."
" The main army then moved forward upon Kanandaigua, at
which place it arrived in two days. Here they ' f oiuid twenty-
three very elegant houses, mostly framed, and in general large,
together with very extensive fields of corn — all of which were
destroyed. From Kanandaigua they proceeded to the small
town of Honeoye, consisting of ten houses, which were imme-
diately burnt to the ground. A. post was established by General
Sullivan at Honeoye, to maintain which a strong garrison was
left, with heavy stores and one field-piece. With this precau-
tionary measure the army prepared to advance upon the yet
more considerable town of Genesee — the great capital of the
western tribes of the confederacy — containing their stores and
their broadest cultivated fields."
CHAP, XXXV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 113
" The valley of the Genesee, for its beauty and fertility, was
beheld by the army of Sullivan with astonishment and delight.
Though an Indian country, and peopled only by wild men of
the woods, its rich intervales presented the appearance of long
cultivation, and were then smiling with the harvests of ripening
corn. Indeed, the Indians themselves professed not to know
when or by whom the lands upon that stream were first brought
into cultivation. Instead of a howling wilderness, Sullivan
and his troops found the Genesee flats, and many other districts
of the country, resembling much more the orchards and farms
and gardens of civilized life. But all was now doomed to speedy
devastation. The Genesee Castle was destroyed. The troops
scoured the whole region round about, and burnt and destroyed
everything that came in their way. The town of Genesee con-
tained 128 houses, mostly large and very elegant. It was
beautifully situated, almost encircled with a clear flatt, extend-
ing a number of miles, over which extensive fields of corn were
waving, together with every kind of vegetable that could be
conceived. But the entire army was immediately engaged in
destroying it, and the axe and the torch soon transformed the
whole of that beautiful region from the character of a garden
to a scene of sickening desolation. Forty Indian towns, the
largest containing 128 houses, were destroyed. Corn, gathered
and ungathered, to the amount of 160,000 bushels, shared the
same fate ; the fruit trees were cut down ; and the Indians
were hunted like wild beasts, till neither house, nor fruit tree,
nor field of corn, nor inhabitant remained in the whole country.
The gardens were enriched with great quantities of useful
vegetables of different kinds. The size of the corn-fields, as
well as the high degree of cultivation, excited wonder, and the
ears of corn were so remarkably large that many of them
measured twenty-two inches in length. So numerous were the
fruit trees, that in one orchard they cut down 1,500."
"Having completed the objects contemplated by the expedi-
tion to the point at which he had arrived. General Sullivan
recrossed the Genesee with his army the 16th of September,
and set out on his return. Why he did not follow up his
success, and strike the enemy's citadel at Niagara, which at
that time was in no situation for formidable resistance, is a
question difficult of solution. Unquestionably, in the organiza-
VOL. II,— 8
114 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV.
tion of the expedition, the conquest of Niagara, the head-
quarters of the foe of all descriptions, and the seat of British
influence and power among the Indians, was one of the principal
objects in view. Certain it is, that the most important feature
of the enterprise was not undertaken ; and it will be seen in
the sequel that but small ultimate advantage resulted from the
campaign. Stimulated by a keener thirst for revenge, clouds
of savages were again and again seen to sweep through the
valley of the Mohawk with the scalping knife and the torch."
" The return of the army was along the same tract by which
it had advanced. On the 20th, having recrossed the outlet of
Seneca Lake, Colonel Zebulon Butler was detached with the
rifle corps of 500 men to pass round the foot of Cayuga Lake,
and lay waste the Indian towns on its eastern shore ; while
Lieutenant-Colonel Dearborn, with 200 men, was detached to
perform the same service on the south-western shore. The
main army pursued the most direct route to the Chemung and
Tioga. On the 26th Colonel Dearborn's detachment returned,
and on the 28th they were rejoined by Colonel Zebulon Butler,
who had burnt three towns of the Cayugas, including their
capital. Dearborn had burnt six towns in his route, destroying
at the same time large quantities of corn. On the same day,
Colonels Van Courtlandt and Dayton were detached upon a
similar service — for the destruction of large fields of corn
growing upon the banks of the Tioga and its tributaries."
" The army then resumed its march, and passing through
Wyoming, arrived at Easton on the 15th of October. The
distance thence to Genesee Castle was 280 miles. With the
exception of the action at Newton, the achievements of the
army in battle were not great. But it had scoured a broad
extent of country, and had laid more towns in ashes than had
ever been destroyed on the continent before. The red men were
driven from their beautiful country, their habitations left in
ruins, their fields laid waste, their orchards uprooted, and their
altars and the tombs of their fathers overthrown."*
All the devastations of settlements, burnings and slaughter
committed by the " Tories and Indians " during the whole war
shrink into insignificance in regard to extent of territory, the
*■ Stone's Life of Joseph Brant, inchxding the Border Wars of the
American Revolution, Vol. II., Chap. i.
CHAP. XXXV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 115
number of inhabitants and towns, the extent of cultivated
farms and gardens, when compared with General Sullivan's one
vast sweep of ruin and misery, in the course of which, as the
historian says, " the Indians were hunted like ivild beasts, till
neither house nor fruit tree, nor field of corn nor inhabitant,
remained in the luhole country."
All this was done by an express order of Congress to the
Commander-in-Chief ; and for doing this General Sullivan and
his army received the cordial approbation and thanks of the
Congress.
It was very natural that the survivors of the Six Nations
and the " Tories," who took refuge and resided among them,
should seek revenge on every possible occasion, in months
following, in the regions of their own sufferings, especially
upon those individuals and communities who they knew had
prompted and aided the executioners of Congress. There were
partizan leaders, with adventurous followers, on both sides, in
the Southern as well as in the Northern States, who inflicted
many acts of barbarity and desolation ; but these retaliatory
cruelties and raids of destruction acquired a greater intensity
of bitterness and cruelty after the terrible ravages and cruelties
perpetrated by General Sullivan and his army.
Besides, the history of the Indians, as well as of the " Tories,"
throughout the whole war, was written by their adversaries, and
it was considered a master-stroke of policy to exaggerate the
alleged misdeeds and paint the character of both the Indians
and Tories in the blackest colours. The story of the " Massacre
of Wyoming" is a sample of the manner in which the American
writers of the day made history against the Indians and the
" Tories." When facts could not be svifficiently seasoned to stimu-
late recruits for the army and appropriations from the people
for its support, fiction pure and simple was resorted to ; and
Dr. Franklin himself did not think it unworthy of his antece-
dents, age and position to employ this method to bring disre-
pute upon the " Tories," the Indians, and the British Govern-
ment itself, and to excite the hatred of his countrymen against
them. The accomplished author of the Life of Brant and the
Border Wars of the American Revolution forcibly observes :
"The Indians of the Six Nations, in common with their
chief, were loaded with execrations for atrocities of which all
116 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV.
were alike innocent, because the deeds recorded were never com-
mitted, it having been the policy of the public writer's and
those in authority, not only to magnify actual occurrences, but
sometimes, when those were wanting, to draw upon their imagi-
nations for such deeds of ferocity and bloodshed as might best
serve to keep alive the strongest feelings of indignation against
the parent country, and likewise induce the people to take the
field in revenge, if not driven thither by the nobler impulse of
patriotism."*
Such deliberate fictions, for political purposes, as that by
Dr. Franklin, just referred to, were probably rare ; but the in-
vestigations into which the author has been, in the prepara-
tion of the present work, have satisfied him that, from other
causes, much exag-geration and falsehood has obtained a perma-
nent footing in American history. Most historians of that
period, English and American, wrote too near the time when the
events they were describing occurred, for a dispassionate investi-
gation of the truth ; and other writers who have succeeded,
have too often been content to follow the beaten track, without
incurring the labour of diligent and calm inquiry. Reference
has been made above to Wyoming, concerning which, to this
day, the world has been abused with monstrous fictions, with
tales of horror never enacted. Nor were the exaggerations in
regard to the invasion of Wyoming greater than were those
connected with the irruption into and destruction of Cherry
Valley, as the reader will discover in the course of the ensuing
pages. • Indeed, the writer, in preparation of materials for this
work, has encountered so much that is false recorded in history
as sober verity, that he has at times been disposed almost to
universal scepticism in regard to uninspired narration.
The " deliberate fictions, for political purposes, by Dr. Frank-
lin," as the biographer of Brant expresses it, " were written as
facts ;" or, as the author quoted expresses it, " the well-known
scalp story of Dr. Franklin was long believed, and recently
revived and included in several books of authentic history."
The details of Dr. Franklin's publication were so minute and
varied as to create a belief that they were perfectly true. " It
was long supposed to be authentic," as the author quoted says
* Life of Brant, including the Border Wars of the American Revolution.
CHAP. XXXV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 117
in introducing the document, in Appendix No. 1 to Volume I.,
" but has since been ascertained to be a publication from the
pen of Dr. Franklin, for political purposes."
The names introduced are of course fictitious, as well as the
statements, but introduced with such an air of plausibility
as to preclude the suspicion that they were fictitious. The
publication will be a curiosity to most of the readers of these
pages, as it has been to the writer. It is as follows :
Extract of a letter from Captain Gerrish, of the New Eng-
land Militia, dated Albany, March 7th, 1782 :
" The peltry taken in the expedition will, as you see, amount
to a good deal of money. The possession of this booty at first
gave us pleasure ; but we were struck with horror to find
among the packages eight large ones, containing scalps of our
unhappy folks taken in the last three years by the Seneca
Indians, from the inhabitants of the frontiers of New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvannia, and Virginia, and sent by them as
a present to Colonel Haldimand, Governor of Canada, in order
to be transmitted by him to England. They were accompanied
by the following curious letter to that gentleman :
" Tioga, January .3rd, 1782.
" May it please Your Excellency,
" At the request of the Seneca chiefs, I send herewith to
your Excellency, under the care of James Boyd, eight packs of
scalps, cured, dried, hooped, and painted with all the Indian
triumphal marks, of which the following is invoice and ex-
planation :
" No. 1, containing forty -three scalps of Congress soldiers killed
in different skirmishes ; these are stretched on black hoops, four
inch diameter ; the inside of the skin painted red, with a small
black spot to note their being killed with bullets. Also sixty-
two farmers, killed in their houses, the hoops red ; the skin
painted brown, and marked with a hoe ; a black circle all round,
to denote their being surprised in the night ; and a black
hatchet in the middle, signifying their being killed with that
weapon.
" No. 2, containing ninety-eight farmers killed in their houses ;
hoops red ; figure of a hoe, to mark their profession ; great
white circle and sun, to show they were surprised in the day-
118 TilE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV,
time ; a little red foot, to show they stood upon their defence,
and died fio-hting; for their lives and families.
" No. 3, containing ninety-seven farmers ; hoops green, to
show they were killed in the fields ; a large white circle, with
a little round mark on it for the sun, to show that it was
in the daytime ; black bullet mark on some, hatchet on others.
"No. 4, containing 102 farmers, mixed of the several marks
above ; only eighteen marked with a little yellow flame, to
denote their being prisoners burnt alive, after being scalped,
their nails pulled out by the roots, and other torments ; one of
these latter supposed to be of a rebel clergyman ; his band
being fixed to the hoop of his scalp. Most of the farmers
appear by the hair to be young or middle-aged men ; there being
but sixty-seven grey heads among them all, which makes the
service more essential.
" No. 5, containing eighty-eight scalps of women ; hair long,
braided in the Indian fashion, to show they were mothers ;
hoops blue ; skin yellow ground, with red tadpoles, to represent,
by way of triumph, the tears of grief occasioned to their
relations ; a black seal ping-knife or hatchet at the bottom,
to mark their being killed with these instruments ; seventeen
others, hair very grey ; black hoops ; plain brown colour, no
mark but the short club or cassetete, to show that they were
knocked down dead, or had their brains beat out.
"No. 6, containing 193 boys' scalps, of various ages; small
green hoops ; whitish ground on the skin, with red tears in the
middle, and black bullet marks, knife, hatchet, or club, as their
death happened.
"No. 7, 211 girls' scalps, big and little; small yellow hoops;
white ground ; tears, hatchet, club, scalping knife, etc.
" No. 8. This package is a mixture of all the varieties above
mentioned, to the number of 122 ; with a box of birch bark,
containing twenty -nine little infants' scalps of various sizes ;
small white hoops, white ground.
" With these packs, the chiefs send to your Excellency the
following speech delivered by Coneiogatchie in council, inter-
preted by the elder Moore, the trader, and taken down by me
in writing :
" ' Father ! — We send you herewith many scalps, that you may
see that we are not idle friends. — A blue belt.
CHAP. XXXV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 119
" ' Father ! — We wish you to send these scalps over the water
to the Great King, that he may regard them and be refreshed ;
and that he may see our faithfulness in destroying his enemies,
and be convinced that his presents have not been made to
ungrateful people. — A blue and white belt with red tassels.
" ' Father ! — Attend to what I am going to say ; it is a matter
of much weight. The Great King's enemies are many, and they
grow fast in number. They were formerly like young panthers ;
they could neither bite nor scratch ; we could play with them
safely; we feared nothing they could do to us. But now
their bodies are become big as the elk and strong as the buffalo ;
they have also got great and sharp claws. They have driven
us out of our country by taking part in your quarrel. We
expect the Great King will give us another country, that our
children may live after us, and be his friends and children as
we are. Say this for us to the Great King. To enforce it we
give this belt. — A great white belt with blue tassels.
" ' Father ! — We have only to say further, that your traders
exact more than ever for their goods ; and our hunting is
lessened by the war, so that we have fewer skins to give for
them. This ruins us. Think of some remedy. We are poor,
and you have plenty of everything. We know you will send
us powder and guns, and knives and hatchets ; but we also
want shirts and blankets. — A little white belt.'
" I do not doubt but that your Excellency will think it proper
to give some further encouragement to those honest people.
The high prices they complain of are the necessary effect of
the war. Whatever presents may be sent for them through my
hands shall be distributed wifch prudence and fidelity. I have
the honour of being
" Your Excellency's most obedient and most humble servant,
"James Craufurd."
This chapter of Congress vengeance to exterminate the Six
Nations of Indians, and of its writers to picture them as human
monsters, cannot be better concluded than in the words of the
historian of Brant,* and of the Border Wars of the American
Revolution :
" No Indian pen traces the history of their tribes and nations,
* Brant liimself was educated at Philadelphia, married and lived quietly
120 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV.
or records the deeds of their warriors and chiefs, their prowess
and their wrongs. Their spoilers have been their historians ;
and althouoh a reluctant assent has been awarded to some of
the nobler traits of their nature, yet, without yielding a due
allowance for the peculiarities of their situation, the Indian
character has been presented with singular uniformity as being
cold, cruel, morose, and revengeful ; unrelieved by any of those
varying traits and characteristics, those lights and shadows
which are admitted in respect to other people no less wild and
uncivilized than they.
" Without pausing to reflect that, even when most cruel, they
have been practising the trade of war — always dreadful — as
much in conformity to their own usages and laws as have their
more civilized antagonists, the white historian has drawn them
with the characteristics of demons. Forgetting that the second
of Hebrew monarchs did not scruple to saw his prisoners with
saws, and harrow them with harrows of iron; forgetful like-
wise of the scenes of Smithfield, under the direction of our
own British ancestors ; the historians of the poor untutored
Indians, almost with one accord, have denounced them as
monsters sui generis, of unparalleled and unapproachable bar-
barity ; as though the summary tomahawk were worse than
the iron tortures of the harrow, and the torch of the Mohawk
hotter than the faggots of Queen Mary,
"Nor does it seem to have occurred to the 'pale-faced'
writers that the identical cruelties, the records and descriptions
of which enter so largely into the composition of the earlier
volumes of American history, were not barbarities in the esti-
mation of those who practised them. The scalp lock was
an emblem of chivalry. Every warrior shaving his head for
battle was careful to leave the lock of defiance upon his croivn,
as for the bravado, ' Take it if you can.' The stake and the
on his land in the Mohawk Valley, entertained the missionaries, and assisted
in translating portions of the New Testament ; but when the revolution
commenced he was not allowed to live in peace imless he joined the
revolutionary party. He determined to maintain, as he said, the covenant
faith of his forefathers to the King of England, and entered upon the " war-
path," in which he became so distinguished a hero ; in the course of which
he perpetrated many deeds of cruelty, but also, as his biographer records,
performed many acts of humanity, kindness, and generosity.
CHAP. XXXV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 121
torture were identified with their rude notions of the power of
endurance. They were inflicted upon captives of their own
race, as well as upon whites ; and with their own braves these
trials were courted, to enable the sufferer to exhibit the courage
and fortitude with which they could be borne — the proud scorn
with which all the pain that a foe might inflict could be
endured.
" But (it is said) they fell upon slumbering hamlets in the
night and massacred defenceless women and children. This,
again, was their own mode of warfare, as honourable in their
estimation as the more courteous methods of committing:
wholesale murder laid down in the books.
" But of one enormity they were ever innocent. Whatever
degree of personal hardship and suffering their female captives
were compelled to endure, their persons were never dishonoured
by violence ; a fact which can be predicated, we apprehend, of
no other victorious soldiery that ever lived.
" In regard, moreover, to the countless acts of cruelty alleged
to have been perpetrated by the savages, it must still be borne
in mind that the Indians have had no writer to relate their own
side of the story. The annals of man, probably, do not attest
a more kindly reception of intruding foreigners than was given
to the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth by the faithful Massassoit,
and the tribes under his jurisdiction. Nor did the forest kings
take up arms until they but too clearly saw that either their
visitors or themselves must be driven from the soil which was
their own — the fee of which was derived from the Great Spirit.
And the nation is yet to be discovered that will not fight for
their homes, the graves of their fathers, and their family altars.
Cruel they were in the prosecution of their contests ; but it
would require the aggregate of a large number of predatory
incursions and isolated burnings to balance the awful scene of
conflagration and blood which at once extinguished the power
of Sassacus, and the brave and indomitable Narracransets over
whom he reigned. No ! until it is forgotten that by some
Christians in infant Massachusetts it was held to be right to
kill Indians, as the agents and familiars of Azazel ; until the
early records of even tolerant Connecticut, which disclose the
fact that the Indians were seized by the Puritans, transported
to the British West Indies, and sold as slaves, are lost; until
122 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXV.
the Amazon and La Plata shall have washed away the bloody
history of the Spanish American conquest ; and until the fact
that Cortez stretched the unhappy Guatimozin naked upon a
bed of burning coals (or General Sullivan's devastation of the
Six Indian Nations) is proved to be a fiction, let not the
American Indians be pronounced the most cruel of men."*
* Stone's Brant and the Border Wars of the American Eevolution, Vol.
I., Introduction, pp. 13, 14, 1.5.
CHAP. XXXVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 123
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Situation and Treatment of the Loyalists During the War.
The condition of the United Empire Loyalists for several
months before, as well as after, the Declaration of Independence,
was humiliating to freemen and perilous in the extreme ; and
that condition became still more pitiable after the alliance
of the revolutionists with the French — the hereditary enemies
of both England and the colonies. From the beginning the
Loyalists were deprived of the freedom of the press, freedom
of assemblage, and under an espionage universal, sleepless,
malignant — subjecting the Loyalists to every species of insult,
to arrest and imprisonment at any moment, and to the seizure
and confiscation of their property.
Before the Declaration of Independence, both parties were
confessedly British subjects, professing allegiance to the same
sovereign and constitution of government, both professing and
avowing their adherence to the rights of British subjects ; but
differing from each other as to the extent of those rights in contra-
distinction to the constitutional rights of the Crown and those
of the people — as in the case of party discussions of all con-
stitutional questions, whether in the colonies or mother country
for centuries past. Both parties had their advocates in the
British Parliament ; and while the prerogative advocates sup-
ported the corrupt Ministry of the day — or the King's party, as
it was called — the Opposition in Parliament supported the
petitions and remonstrances of those colonists who claimed
a more popular colonial government ; but all the advocates
of the constitutional rights of the colonists, in both Houses of
Parliament, disclaimed, on the part of those whom they re-
124 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVI.
presented, the least idea of independence or separation from
England. The Declaration of Independence essentially changed
the relations of parties, both in Great Britain and America.
The party of independence — getting, after months of manipula-
tion by its leaders, first a majority of one in the Congress, and
afterwards increasing that majority by various means — re-
pudiated their former professed principles of connection with
England ; broke faith with the great men and parties in Eng-
land, both in and out of Parliament, who had vindicated their
rights and professions for more than ten years ; broke faith
also with their numerous fellow-subjects in America who ad-
hered to the old faith, to the old flag, and connection with
England, and who were declared by resolutions of Conventions,
from Congress, provinces, counties, to townships and towns,
enemies of their country, rebels and traitors, and treated as
such.* Even before the Declaration of Independence, some
of these popular meetings, called Conventions, assumed the
highest functions of legislation and government, and dealt
at pleasure with the rights, liberties, property, and even lives of
their Tory fellow-citizens. There had been violent words, terms
of mutual reproach, as in all cases of hot political contests ;
but it was for the advocates of independent liberty to deny to
the adherents of the old faith all liberty of speech or of opinion,
except under penalties of imprisonment or banishment, with
confiscation of property. For a large portion of the com-
munityf- to be thus stript of their civil rights by resolutions of
a Convention, and reduced to the position of proscribed aliens
or slaves, must have been galling to Loyalists beyond expression,
* " Committees exercised legislative, executive, and judicial powers. It is
not to be doubted that, in many instances, these were improperly used, and
that private resentments were often covered under the specious veil of
patriotism. The sufferers, in passing over to the Eoyalists, carried with tliem
a keen remembrance of the vengeance of Committees, and when oppor-
tunity presented were tempted to retaliate." (Dr. Eamsay's History of the
United States, Vol. II., Chap, xxvi., pp. 467, 468.)
t " Until the Declaration of Independence they were by far the largest
party, who not only expected but prayed for a reconciliation. England was
their home, and by that affectionate name was always spoken of; all the
wrongs which were heaped upon the children could not make them forget
their home, or entirely alienate them from their parent. The ligaments
that connect nations are never less powerful, thoiigh less tender, than those
CHAP. XXXVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 125
and well calculated to prompt them to outbreaks of passion, and
retaliations of resentment and revenge, each such act followed
by a corresponding act from the opposite party.*
It might be supposed that forbearance and respect would
have been shown to those who remained " steadfast and immov-
able " in the traditional faith of British monarchy and British
connection, notwithstanding a corrupt and arbitrary party was
in power for the time being ; but the very reverse of this was
the case on the part of those who professed, as one cardinal
article of their political creed, that " all men are born free and
equal," and therefore that every man had an equal right to his
opinions, and an equal right to the expression of them ; but all
this was reversed in the treatment of the Loyalists. Mr. Hil-
dreth well describes the position and treatment of the Loyalists,
both before and after the Declaration of Independence, in the
following words :
" In the position of that considerable class of persons who
had remained in doubt, the Declaration of Independence and
the assumption of State government made a decided change.
It was now necessary to choose one side or the other.
" Very serious, too, was the change in the legal position of the
class known as Tories, in many of the States a large minority,
and in all respectable for wealth and social position. Of those
thus stigmatized, some were inclined to favour the utmost
claims of the mother country; but the greater part, though
whicli unite individuals, families, and clans. Consanguinity, affinity, alliance,
operate alike on each." (Allen's History of the American War.)
" The disaffected, or rather the Loyalists, were a formidable party in the
Middle States. They might be forgiven — many of them acted from prin-
ciple, from a conscientious regard to their duty, from affection to their
'Sovereign,' and however mistaken they may have been, they deserve no
censure. It is the infirmity of men's nature to err, and the majority cannot
complain if the minority insist on the same privilege for which the pre-
dominant party are contending — the liberty of judging for themselves." —
lb., Vol. L, p. 483.
* Even in South Carolina. Mr. Hildreth remarks :
" Not, however, by armies alone were hostilities carried on. All the
scattered settlements bristled in hostile array. Whigs and Tories pursued
each other with little less than savage fury. Small parties, everywhere under
arms, some on one side, some on the other, with very little reference to
greater operations, were desperately bent on plunder and blood." (Hildreth's
History of the United States, Vol. III., Chap, xli., p. 329.)
126 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXX VL
determined to adhere to the British connection, yet deprecated
the policy tvhich had brought on so fatal a quarrel. This
loyal minority, especially its more conspicuous members, as the
warmth of political feeling increased, had been exposed to the
violence of mobs, and to all sorts of personal indignities, in
which private malice or a wanton and insolent spirit of mis-
chief had been too often gratified under the disguise of patriot-
ism. The barbarous and disgraceful practice of tarring and
feathering and carting Tories, placing them in a cart and
carrying them about as a sort of spectacle, had become in
some places a favourite amusement. To restrain these out-
rages, Congress had specially committed the oversight of Tories
and suspected persons to the regularly appointed Committees
of Inspection and Observation for the several counties and
districts. But even .these Committees were not always very
judicious or discriminating in the exercise of despotic powers
implied in that delicate trust.
" By the recent political changes, Tories and suspected persons
became exposed to dangers from the law as well as from mobs.
Having boldly seized the reins of government, the new State
authorities claimed the allegiance of all residents within their
limits, and under the lead and recommendation of Congress,
those who refused to acknowledge their aiithority, or who
adhered to their enemies, were exposed to severe penalties, con-
fiscation of property, imprisonment, banishment, and finally
death."*
It does not appear that these lawless outrages upon " Tories "
were ever checked or discountenanced, or their authors ever
even reproved by the so-called authorities, but were actively or
tacitly encouraged ; so that before and during the very first
months of Independence, the Loyalists were subject to the
penalties of the mobs on one side and to the more cruel
penalties of new-made law by a newly self-created authority
on the other side. Perhaps no one did as much to promote this
cruel policy against the Loyalists as Mr. John Adams, who was
the ruling spirit in all the proceedings of Boston for years, the
advocate of the Declaration of Independence, and the chief
* Hildretli's History of the United States, Vol. III., Chap, xxxiii., pp.
137, 138.
CHAP. XXXVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 127
member of the Secret Committee of Congress for years, and was
at length appointed Ambassador from the American Congress
to Holland, whence he wrote a letter to Thomas Gushing, then
Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, but which was inter-
cepted on board of the prize brigantine Cabot, and carried
to St. Christopher's, in the West Indies. This letter was
published in the Annual Register for 1781, pp. 259 — 261. It is
dated " Amsterdam, December 1.5th, 1780," more than four years
after the Declaration of Independence, and fully" indicates the
source of all those cruel acts against the Loyalists at the com-
mencement and during the early years of the American civil
war. Mr. Adams says :
" It is true, I believe, what you suggest, that Loi'd North
showed a disposition to give up the contest, but was diverted
from it not unlikely by the representation of the Americans in
London, who, in connection with their coadjutors in America,
have been thorns to us indeed on both sides of the water ; but
I think their career might have been stopt on your side if the
executive officers had not been too timid in a point which I so
strenuously recommended at the first — namely, to fine, imprison,
and hang all inimical to the cause, without favour or affection.
I foresaw the evil that would arise from that quarter, and
wished to have timely stopt it. I would have hanged my own
brother had he taken a part with our enemy in the contest."
Such was the " strenuously recommended " wholesale hanging
policy of Mr. John Adams for the extermination of the " Tories "
— a curious illustration of his professed doctrine, that " all men
are born free and equal," and which largely accounts for the
treatment of Loyalists during the war, and for the exasperated
feelings which existed between them and their persecutors
and oppressors of the Independence party. One of the first
manifestations of this relentless feeling against the Loyalists
occurred in Mr. Adams' native city of Boston, on its evacuation
by General Howe, who, as Lord Mahon says, " had taken with
him, at their own urgent request, above a thousand of the
inhabitants of Boston, who had espoused the cause of the parent
State, and who dreaded on that account the vengeance of their
countrymen. Before they had embarked, they had, as Washing-
ton informs his brother, publicly declared that ' if they thought
the most abject submission would procure them peace, they
128 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXYI.
never would have stirred.' "* (Letter to John Augustine
Washington, March 18th, 1776, as printed in the American
Archives.)
" Indeed, throughout this contest, and amidst all those quali-
ties displayed by the Americans, many of those qualities being
entitled to high respect and commendation, there was none
certainly less amiable than their merciless rancour against
those among them who adhered to the royal side. In reference
to those, a ferocious saying came to be current in America, that
though we are commanded to forgive our enemies, we are
nowhere commanded to forgive our friends. In reference to
them, true Jetburgh justice was more than once administered —
first the punishment, then the accusation, and last of all the
evidence."-]-
The Convention of the State of New York (1776) resolved
that " any person being an adherent to the King of Great Britain
should be guilty of treason and suffer death."J
The Loyalists experienced similar treatment in other pro-
vinces.
«
" Previous to their evacuation of Philadelphia, the Congress
* Having thus recovered their capital (Boston), one of the first acts of
government exercised, by the Provincial Assembly was to order the effects
and the estates of those who fled with the British troops to Halifax to be
publicly disposed of, and their produce applied to the use of the State.
Such adherents to Britain as had risked to remain behind, were treated with
great severity. They were prosecuted as enemies and betrayers of their
co^^ntry, and their estates were confiscated accordingly. (Dr. Andrews'
History of the Late War, Vol. II., Chap, xix., p. 159.)
t Lord Mahon's History, etc., Vol. VI., Chap, liii., pp. 127, 128.
" The American Loyalists, in arms on the side of England, had grievous
cause throughout the war to complain of the merciless treatment of such
among them as feU into their countrymen's hands." — Ih., Vol. VII., Chap.
Lx;vi.,p. 250.
" The Legislature of North Carolina passed a law (1780) to put a stop to
the robbery of poor people under the pretence that they were Tories — a
practice carried on even to the plundering of their clothes and household
furniture." (Hildreth's History of the United States, Vol. III., Chap, xli.,
p. 329.)
" In New York, in 1776, a rage for plundering, under pretence of taking
Tory property, infected many of the common soldiery, and even some of the
officers." (Dr. Kamsay's History of the United States, VoL II., Chap, xi.,
p. 154.)
% Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap. xi.
CHAP. XXXVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 129
had ordered some of the principal Quakers and other gentle-
men of the first consideration in that place, above twenty in
number, to be taken into custody, as strongly attached to the
royal cause, and known enemies to the ruling powers. These
gentlemen had repeatedly refused to give any written or verbal
acknowledgment of allegiance or submission to the American
Government, or promise of holding no correspondence with its
enemies. Notwithstanding the evident danger their persons
were in, they had even the resolution to refuse confining them-
selves to their respective dwellings. The spirit of these gentle-
men was unconquerable to the last, as they still persisted, in
defiance of threats, and in spite of all solicitations and entreaty,
immovable in their principles and in their determination to
reject the test that was proposed to them. They were sent
prisoners to Stanton, in Virginia, as soon as it was apprehended
that the British troops would take possession of Philadelphia."*
After the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, at Yorktown, the
defenceless Loyalists were the objects of vengeance as they
went further north. The army of Lord Cornwallis received
civil treatment from Washington's army,-|- and great kindness
from the French officers and soldiers. Lord Mahon observes :
" The followers of the English army, left defenceless at York-
town, were exposed to much ill-treatment on the part of the
native soldiers, thirsting, it was said, for vengeance. Abbe
* Dr. Andrews' History of the Late War, Vol. II., Chap, xxvi., pp. 370, 371.
t In connection with these transactions, we have an illustration of the
uniform and generous treatment of Loyalists by General Washington,
although he once gave expression to ill-feeling towards them at Boston in
the spring of 1775 ; for says Lord Mahon :
" Cornwallis, on his part, was honourably anxious to protect from harm the
native Loyalists within his lines ; and he proposed, as the tenth Article, that
no such men were to be punished on account of having joined the British
army. Washington wrote in reply : ' This cannot be assented to, being
altogether of civil resort.' Means were found, however, with Washington's
connivance, to obtain the same object in another form. It was stipulated
that, immediately after the capitulation, the Bonetta sloop-of-war was to
sail for New York, unsearched, ^vith despatches from Lord Cornwallis to Sir
Henry Clinton, and with as many soldiers on board as he should think fit
to send ; provided only that the vessel was returned, and that the soldiers
were accounted for as prisoners in a future exchange. By this expedient
was the British chief enabled to secure a safe conduct for his American
adherents." (Lord Mahon's History, etc., Vol. VII., Chap. Lxiv., p. 179.)
VOL. rr. — 9
180 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVI.
Robin* saw an English lady, a colonel's wife, come in tears to
implore for herself and for her children the protection of
French generosity against American outrage. On the other
hand, we find the English officers and soldiers, the actual
prisoners of war, bear willing testimony to the kindness they
received. Thvis speaks Lord Cornwallis in his letter to Sir
Henry Clinton : ' The treatment in general that we have re-
ceived from the enemy since our surrender has been perfectly
good and proper. But the kindness and attention that has
been shown us by the French officers in particular, their deli-
cate sensibility of our situation, their generous and pressing
offer of money, both public and private, to any amount, has
really gone beyond what I can possibly describe, and will, I
hope, make an impression on the breast of every English
officer, whenever the fortune of war should put any of them
into our power.' " (Lord Mahon's History of England, etc.,
Vol. VII., Chap. Ixiv., pp. 181, 182.)
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XXXVI.
The Acts or Legislative Bodies for the Punishment of the
Adherents to the Crown were numerous.
" In Rhode Island, death and confiscation of estate were the
penalties by law for any person who communicated with the
Ministry or their agents, or who afforded supplies to the forces,
or piloted the armed ships of the King. Besides these general
statutes, several Acts were passed in that State to confiscate and
sequester the property of certain persons who were designated
by name.
" In Connecticut, the offences of supplying the royal army
* " The abbe was struck at seeing, from several indications, how much
keener was at that time the animosity between the English and Americans
than between the English and French. Thus the English officers, when
they laid down their arms and were passing along the enemy's lines,
courteously saluted every French officer, even of the ' lowest rank,' a com-
pliment which they withheld from every American man of the highest."
(Voyage en Amerique, par I'Abbd Robin, p. 141, ed. 1782 ; quoted in Lord
Mahon's History, Vol. VI., Chap. Ixiv., p. 181.)
OHAP. XXXVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 131
or navy, of giving them information, of enlisting or procuring
others to enlist in them, and of piloting or assisting naval
vessels, were punished more mildly, and involved only the loss
of estate and personal liberty for a term not exceeding three
years. To speak or ivrite or act against the doings of Congress
or of the Assembly of Connecticut, was punishable by dis-
qualijication for offi.ce, imprisonment, and the disarming of the
offender. Here, too, was a law for seizing and confiscating the
estates of those who sought royal protection, and absented
themselves from their homes or the country.
" In Massachusetts, a person suspected of enmity to the Whig
cause could be arrested under a magistrate's warrant and
banished, unless he would swear fealty to the friends of
liberty ; and the select men of towns could prefer charges
of political treachery in town meetings, and the individual
accused, if convicted by a jury, could be sent into the enemy's
jurisdiction (banished). Massachusetts also designated by name,
and generally by occupation and residence, 380 of her people,
of whom seventeen had been inhabitants of Maine, who had
fled from their homes, and denounced against any one of them
who should return, apprehension, imprisonment, and transpor-
tation to a place possessed by the British ; and for a second
voluntary return, without leave, death without the benefit of
clergy. By another law, the property of twenty-nine persons
who were denominated ' notorious conspirators,' was confiscated
— two had been governors, one lieutenant-governor, one treasurer,
one attorney-general, one chief justice, and four commissioners
of customs.
" J^ew Hampshire passed Acts similar to these, under which
seventy-six of her former citizens were prohibited from coming
within her borders, and the estates of twenty-eight were de-
clared to be forfeited.
" Virginia passed a resolution to the effect that persons of
a given description should be deemed and treated as aliens, and
that their property should be sold, and the proceeds go into
the public treasury for future disposal ; and also a law prohibit-
ing the migration of certain persons to that commonwealth, and
providing penalties for the violation of its provisions.
" In New York, the County Committees were authorized to
apprehend and decide upon the guilt of such inhabitants as
132 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVI.
were supposed to hold correspondence with the enemy, or had
committed some other specified act ; and they might punish
those whom they adjudged to be guilty with imprisonment for
three months, or banishment. There, too, persons opposed to
liberty and independence were prohibited from practising law
in the Courts ; and the effects of fifty-nine persons, of whom
three were women, and their rights of remainder and rever-
sion, were to pass by confiscation from them to the people.
So, also, a parent whose sons went off and adhered to the
enemy was subjected to a tax of ninepence on the pound of
the parents' estate for each and every such son ; and until a
revision of the law, Whigs were as liable to this tax as
others.
" In New Jersey, one Act was passed to punish traitors and
disaffected persons ; another, for taking charge of and leasing
the real estates, and for forfeiting the personal estates of certain
fugitives and offenders ; and a third for forfeiting to, and
vesting in the State, the real property of the persons designated
in the second statute ; and a fourth, supplemental to the Act
first mentioned.
" In Pennsylvania, sixty -two persons, who were designated
by name, were required by the Executive Council to surrender
themselves to some Judge of a Court, or Justice of the Peace,
within a specified time, and abide trial for treason, or in default
of appearance to stand attainted ; and by an Act of a sub-
sequent time, the estates of thirty-six other persons, who were
also designated by name, and who had been previously attainted
of treason, were declared to be confiscated.
" The Act of Delaware provided that the property, both real
and personal, of certain persons who were named, and who were
forty-six in number, should be forfeited to the State, ' subject,
nevertheless, to the payment of the said offenders' just debts,'
unless, as in Pennsylvania, they gave themselves up to trial for
the crime of treason in adhering to the royal cause.
" Maryland seized, confiscated, and appropriated all property
of persons in allegiance to the British Crown, and appointed
Commissioners to carry out the terms of three statutes which
were passed to effect these purposes.
" In North Carolina, the Confiscation Act embraced sixty-
five specified individuals, and four mercantile firms, and by its
CHAP. XXXVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 133
terms not only included the ' lands ' of these persons and com-
mercial houses, but their ' negroes and other personal property.'
" The law of Georgia, which was enacted very near the close
of the struggle, declared certain persons to have been gulity of
treason against that State, and their estates to be forfeited
for their offences."*
* Note by the Author. — The above statement of the confiscating law of
Georgia gives a very inadequate idea of that kw. Savannah was taken, and
General Lincoln and liis army were driven out of Georgia by Lieutenant-
Colonel Campbell, in 1778, who treated all classes with such kindness and
generosity that the Legislature and Government, as previously existed, was
restored and remained until 1782, when Savannah was evacuated by the
British. Just at the juncture of Colonel Campbell's conquest of Georgia, the
Legislature of that State was passing a Confiscation Act against " Tories " and
preparing to carry it into effect. During the latter part of the nearly four
years of British occupation, the Congress party elected a Governor and
organized their Legislature, meeting at Augusta. Two months before the
evacuation of Savannah by the British, the Legislature of the Congress party
passed the Confiscation Act referred to in the text. We find a copy of this
act in a pamphlet published in London in 1783, entitled The Particxdar
Case of the Georgia Loyalists. This Act may serve as a specimen of Confisca-
tion Acts passed in other States. We give it entire, remarking that it
curiously assumes in the preamble that there had been no break in the
Government of the State from 1778 to 1782, though the English had ruled
the State during the whole of that period. The Act is as follows :
" Whereas on the 1st day of March, which was in the year of our Lord
1778, an Act was passed for attainting certain persons therein mentioned of
treason, and confiscating their estates for the use and benefit of this State,
which said Act has not yet been carried into full execution : And whereas it
is necessary that the names of the said persons so attainted by the same
law should be inserted in a law, with the names of various other persons
who have since the aforesaid time been guilty of treason against this State,
and the authority of the same, by traitorously adhering to the King of
Great Britain, and by aiding, assisting, abetting, and comforting the generals
and other officers, civil and military, of the said King, to enforce his authority
in and over this State, and the good people of the same : And whereas the
aforesaid treason, and other atrocious crimes, justly merit forfeiture of pro-
tection and property:
" Be it enacted, by the representatives and freemen of the State of Georgia
in General Assembly met, and by tlie authority of the same, that all and
each of the following persons, viz. (here follow the names of 286 persons,
late inhabitants of Georgia), be and they are hereby declared to be banished
from this State for ever ; and if any of the aforesaid shall remain in this
State sixty days after the passing of this Act, or shall return to this State,
the Governor or Commander-in-Chief for the time being is hereby authorised
134 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXX VL
"South Carolina surpassed all the other members of the
confederacy, Massachusetts excepted. The Loyalists of the
State, whose rights, persons, and property were affected by
legislation, were divided into four classes. The persons who
had offended the least, who were forty-five in number, were
and rec^uired to cause such persons so remaining in or returning to this State
to be apprehended and committed to jail, there to remain without bail
or mainprize, until a convenient opportunity shall offer for transjiorting
the said persons beyond the seas to some part of the British King's
dominions, which the Governor or Commander-in-Chief for the time being
is hereby required to do ; and if any of the said persons shall return to this
State after such transportation, then and in such case he or they shall be
adjixdged and hereby declared to be guilty of felony, and shall, on conviction
of their having so returned as aforesaid, suffer death without the benefit of
clergy.
"And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that all and
singular the estates, real and personal, of each and every one of the aforesaid
persons, which they held, possessed or were entitled to, in law or equity, on
the I9th of April, 1775, or which they have held since, or do hold in possession,
or others hold in trust for them, or to which they are or may be entitled in law
or equity, or which they may have, hold, or be possessed of, in right of others,
together with all debts, dues, and demands that are or may be owing to the
aforesaid persons, or either of them, 6e confiscated to and for the use and benefit
of this State ; and the monies arising from the sales which take place by
virtue of and in pursuance of this Act, to be applied to such uses and
purposes as the Legislature shall hereafter direct.
" And Avhereas divers others persons, citizens of this State, and owing
allegiance thereto (whose names are not herein recited), did, in violation of
said allegiance, traitorously assist, abet, and participate in the aforesaid
treasonable practices : Be it therefore enacted, by the authority of the afore-
said, that all and every of the person or persons under this description
shall, on full proof and conviction of the same in a court of law, be liable
and subjected to all the like pains, penalties, and forfeitures inflicted by
this Act on those offenders whose names are particularly mentioned therein.
" And be it further enacted, that all debts, dues, or demands due or
owing to merchants and others residing in Great Britain, be and they are
hereby sequestered, and the Commissioners appointed by this Act, or a
majority of them, are hereby empowered to recover, receive, and deposit the
same in the Treasury of this State, in the same manner and under the
same regulations as debts confiscated, there to remain for the use of this
State until otherwise appropriated by this or any other House of Assembly.
" And whereas there are various persons, subjects of the King of Great
Britain, possessed of or entitled to estates, real and personal, which justice
and sound policy require should be applied to the benefit of this State :
Be it therefore enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that all and singular the
CHAP. XXXVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 185
allowed to retain their estates, but were amerced twelve per
cent, of their value. Soon after the fall of Charleston, and
when disaffection to the Whig cause was so general, 210 persons,
who styled themselves to be ' principal inhabitants ' of the city,
signed an address to Sir Henry Clinton, in which they state
that they have every inducement to return to their allegiance,
and ardently hope to be re-admitted to the character and con-
dition of British subjects. These ' addressers ' formed another
class. Of these 210, sixty-three were banished and lost their
property by forfeiture, either for this offence or the graver one
of affixing their names to a petition to the royal general, to be
armed on the royal side. Another class, composed of the still
larger number of eighty persons, were also banished and
divested of their estates, for the crime of holding civil or mili-
tary commissions under the Crown, after the conquest of South
Carolina. And the same penalties were inflicted upon thirteen
others, who, on the success of Lord Cornwallis at Camden,
presented his lordship with congratulations. Still fourteen
others were banished and de'jprived of their estates because they
were obnoxious. Thus, then, the 'addressers,' ' petitioners,' ' con-
gratulators,' and ' obnoxious Loyalists,' who were proscribed,
and who suffered the loss of their property (in South Carolina),
were 170 in number; and if to these we add the forty-five
who were fined twelve pounds in the hundred of the value of
their estates, the aggregate will be 215.
"Much of the legislation of the several States appears to
estates, real and personal, belonging to persons being British subjects, of
whatever kind or nature, of which they may be possessed, or others in trust for
them, or to which they are or may be entitled in law or equity, and also all
debts, dues, or demands owing or accruing to them, be confiscated to and
for the use and benefit of this State ; and the monies arising from the sale
which shall take place by virtvxe of and in pursuance of this Act, to be
applied to such uses and purposes as the Legislature shall liereafter direct.
" And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that the State will
and do guarantee and defend the Commissioners appointed by this Act, or a
majority of them, in all their proceedings for carrying the powers and
authorities given them by the same into full effect ; and will also warrant
and for ever defend all and every sale or sales which the said Commis-
sioners, or a majority of them, shall make to any purchaser or purchasers of
any part or parts of the real and personal estates confiscated by this Act.
"Augusta, State of Georgia, 4th May, 1782."
136 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVI.
have proceeded from the recommendations made from time to
time hy Congress, and that body passed several acts and resolu-
tions of its own. Thus they subjected to martial law and to
death all who should furnish provisions and certain other
articles to the King's troops in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and
Delaware ; and they resolved that all Loyalists taken in arms
should be sent to the States to which they belonged, there to
be dealt with as traitors" (not as prisoners of war, as were
Americans taken in arms against the British).*
REMARKS ON THE CONFISCATION ACTS ABOVE CITED.
The Draconian Code or the Spanish Inquisition can hardly be
said to exceed in severity and intolerance, the acts of the several
State Legislatures and Committees above quoted, in which mere
opinions are declared to be treason, as also the refusal to renoimce
a solemn oath of allegiance. The very place of residence, the
non-presenting one's self to be tried as a traitor, the mere suspi-
cion of holding Loyalist opinions, involved the loss of liberty and
property. Scores of persons were made criminals, not after
trial by a verdict of a regularly empannelled jury, but by name,
in acts or resolutions of Legislatures, and sometimes of Com-
mittees. No modern civilized country has presented such a
spectacle of the wholesale disposal, by name, of the rights,
liberties and properties, and even lives of citizens, by inquisi-
tion and various bodies, as was here presented against the
Loyalists, guilty of no crime against their neighbours except
holding to the opinions of their forefathers, and the former
opinions of their present persecutors, who had usurped the
power to rob, banish, and destroy them — who embodied in
themselves, at one and the same time, the functions of law
makers, law judges, and law executioners, and the receivers
and disposers, or, as was the case, the possessors of the property
which they confiscated against the Loyalists.
Is it surprising, then, that under such a system of oppression
and robbery, Loyalists should be prompted to deeds of heroism,
and sometimes of desperation and cruelty, to avenge themselves
for the wrongs inflicted upon them, and to recover the liberties
and properties of which they had thus been deprived, rendering
* Historical Introduction to Col. Sabine's BiograpMcal Sketches of the
American Loyalists, pp. 77 — 81.
CHAP. XXXVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 137
themselves and their families homeless, and reducing them to
poverty and distress ? No one can justify many deeds of the
Loyalists ; but who could be surprised had they been more
desperate than they were ? And this the more so as they were,
probably, superior in wealth and nearly ec^ual in numbers to
their oppressors, who had suddenly seized upon all military
sources of power, disarmed the Loyalists, and erected tribunals
for their ruin.* American writers often speak of the havoc
committed by the " Tories," but the acts of Legislatures and
Committees above quoted furnish ample causes and provocation
for retaliation, and the most desperate enterprises and efforts to
recover lawful rights and hard-earned property. Where these
Confiscating Acts had been most sweeping and severe, as in the
case of South Carolina, and the two parties nearly equal, this
internecine war against life and property was the most relent-
less.-f-
It is as easy as it is unfair for American writers to narrate and
* In the historical essay above quoted, the author says : " The examination
now completed of the political condition of the colonies, of the state of
parties, and of the divisions in particular classes in society, and avocations
in life, leads to the conclusion that the number' of our countrymen who
wished to continue their connection with the mother coimtry was very large.
In nearly every Loyalist letter or other paper which I have examined, and
in which the subject is mentioned, it is either assumed or stated in terms
that the loyal were the majority ; and this opinion, I am satisfied, was very
generally entertained by those who professed to have a knowledge of public
sentiment. That the adherents of the Crown were mistaken, is certain.
But yet in the Carolinas, and Georgia, and possibly in Pennyslvania, the
two parties diifered but little in point of strength, while in New York the
Whigs were far weaker than their opponents." (Historical Introduction to
Col. Sabine's Biographical Sketches of the American Loyalists, p. 65.)
t In the historical essay above quoted we have the following words ;
" What was the nature of the conflict between the two parties in South
Carolina 1 Did the Whigs and their opponents meet in open and fair fight,
and give and take the courtesies and observe the rules of civilized warfare ?
Alas, no ! They murdered one another. I wish it were possible to use a
milder word ; but murder is the only one that can be employed to express
the truth. Of tliis, however, the reader shall judge. I shall refrain from
a statement of my own, and rely on the testimony of others.
" Gen. Greene thus spoke of the hand-to-hand strifes, which I stigmatize
as murderous. ' The animosity,' said he, ' between the Whigs and Tories
renders their situation truly deplorable. The Whigs seem determined to
extirpate the Tories, and the Tories the Whigs. Some thousands have fallen
138 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVI.
magnify the murderous acts of the "Tories," and omit those
perpetrated by the " Whigs," as well as the cruel laws against
the liberties, property, and lives of the " Tories," which gave
rise to these barbarous acts.
in this way in this quarter, and the evil rages with more violence than ever.
If a stop cannot be soon put to these massacres, the country will be de-
populated in a few months more, as neither * Whig ' nor ' Tory ' can live."
(Historical Introduction to Colonel Sabine's • Biographical Sketches of the
American Loyalists, p. 33.)
CHAP. XXXVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 139
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Tbeatment of the Loyalists by the Americans, at and aftek the
American Eevolution.
It remains now to ascertain the reception with which the
appKcations of Loyalists were met in the several State Legisla-
tures. During the last three years of the war, the principal
operations of the British army were directed to the Southern
States ; and there the exasperations of party feeling may be
supposed to have been the strongest.*
No where had arbitrary authority been exercised more un-
mercifully towards the revolutionists than by Earl Cornwallis
and Lord Rawdon in South and North Carolina. Dr. Ramsay
says : " The troops under the command of Cornwallis had
spread waste and ruin over the face of all the country, for
* Writing under date of January, 1782, Mr. Hildreth says : " The sur-
render of Cornwallis was soon felt in the Southern department. Wilming-
ton was evacuated, thus dashing all the hopes of the North Carolina Tories.
Greene approached Charleston, and distributed his troops so as to confine the
enemy to the neck and adjacent islands.
" In re-establishing the State Government of South Carolina, none were
allowed to vote who had taken British protection. John Matthews was elected
Governor. Among the earliest proceedings of the Assembly was the passage
of a law banishing the most active British partizans and confiscating their
property. The services of Greene were also gratefully remembered in a vote
of 10,000 guineas, or $50,000, to purchase him an estate.
" The Georgia Assembly, in meeting at Augusta, chose John Martin as
Governor, and passed a law of confiscation and banishment very similar to that
of South Carolina. Greene presently received from this Province, also, the
present of a confiscated plantation. North Carolina acknowledged his
services by a grant of wild lands." (History of the United States, Vol.
III., Chap, xliii., p, 373.)
140 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVII.
400 miles on the sea coast, and for 200 miles westward. Their
marches from Charleston to Camden, from Camden to the River
Dan, from the Dan through North Carolina to Wilming-
ton, from Wilmington to Petersburg, and from Petersburg
through many parts of Virginia, till they finally settled in
Yorktown, made a route of more than 1,100 miles. Every
place through which they passed in these various marches ex-
perienced the effects of their rapacity. Their numbers enabled
them to go where they pleased ; their rage for plunder disposed
them to take whatever they had the means of removing ; and
their animosity to the Americans led them often to the wanton
destruction of what they could neither use nor carry off". By
their means, thousands had been involved in distress."*
It was therefore in South Carolina, more than any other
State, that animosity might be expected to be intense and pro-
longed against the Loyalists ; but among these men of the South,
with their love of freedom, and dash and energy in war, there
was a potent element of chivalry and British generosity which
favourably contrasts with the Massachusetts school of persecut-
ing bigotry and of hatred, from generation to generation, to
* Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xxv., p. 456.
" Under the immediate eye of Cornwallis," says Mr. Bancroft, " the
prisoners who had capitulated in Charleston were the subjects of perpetual
persecution, unless they would exchange their paroles for oaths of allegiance.
Mechanics and shopkeepers could not collect their dues except after promises
of loyalty.
" Lord Rawdon, who had the very important command on the Santee,
raged equally against deserters from his Irish regiment and against the
inhabitants. The chain of forts for holding South Carolina consisted of
Georgetown, Charleston, Beaufort, and Savannah on the sea ; Augusta,
Ninety-Six, and Camden in the interior. Of these, Camden was the most im-
portant, for it was the key between the north and south. On the rumour of
an advancing American army, Rawdon called on all the inhabitants round
Camden to join in arms. One hundred and sixty who refused he shut up
during the heat of midsummer in one prison, and loaded more than twenty
of them with chains, some of whom were protected by the capitulation of
Charleston." (Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. X., Chap, xv.,
pp. 311, 312, 313.)
" Peace was restored to Georgia (July, 1782), after having been four years
in possession of the British. That State is supposed to have lost 1,000 of
its citizens and 4,000 slaves." (Moultrie's Memoirs, Vol. II., p. 340 ; quoted
in Holmes' American Annals, Vol. II., p. 340.)
CHAP. XXXVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 141
England and English institutions. Accordingly we learn from
Moultrie's Memoirs, Vol. II., p. 326, that " after the peace, a
Joint Committee from the Senate and House of Representatives
in South Carolina, chosen to hear the petitions of Loyalists
who had incurred the penalties of the confiscation, banish-
ment, and amercement laws, made a report to the separate
Houses in favour of the great majority of the petitioners ; and
a great part of those names which were upon the confiscation,
banishment and amercement lists were struck off"."
" The petitions of others were afterwards presented from year
to year, and ultimately almost the whole of them had their
estates restored to them, and they were received as citizens."*
As to the proceedings of the other States, after the close of
the war, in regard to the United Empire Loyalists, the follow-
ing summary, from the Historical Introduction to Colonel
Sabine's Biography of the American Loyalists, will be suffi-
cient :
" At the peace, justice and good policy both required a general
amnesty, and the revocation of the acts of disability and banish-
ment, so that only those who had been guilty of flagrant crimes
should be excluded from becoming citizens. Instead of this,
however, the State Legislatures generally continued in a course
of hostile action, and treated the conscientious and pure, and
the unprincipled and corrupt, with the same indiscrimination as
they had done during the struggle. In some parts of the
country there really appears to have been a determination to
place these misguided but then humbled men beyond the pale
of human sympathy. In one legislative body, a petition from
the banished, praying to be allowed to return to their homes,
was rejected without a division ; and a law was passed which
denied to such as had remained within the State, and to all
others who had opposed the revolution, the privilege of voting
at the elections or of holding oiSce. In another State, all who
had sought royal protection were declared to be aliens, and to
be incapable of claiming and holding property within it, and
their return was forbidden. Other Legislatures refused to
repeal such of their laws as conflicted with the conditions of
the treaty of peace, and carried out the doctrines of the States
*Qyoted in Holmes' Annals, Vol. II., p. 351.
142 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVII,
alluded to above without material modification. But the temper
of South Carolina was far more moderate. Acting on the wise
principle that ' when the offenders are numerous, it is some-
times prudent to overlook their crimes,' she listened to the
supplications made to her by the fallen, and restored to their
civil and political rights a large portion of those who had
suffered under her banishment and confiscation laws. The
course pursued by New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia was
different. These States were neither merciful nor just ; and it
is even true that Whigs, whose gallantry in the field, whose
prudence in the Cabinet, and whose exertions in diplomatic
stations abroad, had contributed essentially to the success of the
conflict, were regarded with enmity on account of their attempts
to produce a better state of feeling and more humane leo-isla-
tion. Had these States adopted a different line of conduct,
their good example would not have been lost, probably, upon
others, smaller and of less influence ; and had Virginia especially
been honest enough to have permitted the payment of debts
which her people owed to British subjects before the war, the
first years of our freedom would not have been stained with a
breach of our public faith, and the long and angry contro-
versy with Great Britain, which well-nigh involved us in a
second war with her, might not have occurred.
" Eventually, popular indignation diminished ; the statute
book was divested of its most objectionable enactments, and
numbers were permitted to occupy their old homes, and to
recover the whole or part of their property; but by far the
greater part of the Loyalists who quitted the country at the
commencement of, or during the war, never returned ; and of
the many thousands who abandoned the United States after
the peace, and while these enactments were in force, few,
comparatively, had the desire or even the means to revisit the
land from which they were expelled. Such persons and their
descendants form a very considerable proportion of the popula-
tion of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Upper Canada.
" It is equally to be regretted on grounds of policy that the
majorities* in the State Legislatures did not remember, with
* " I say majorities, because I am satisfied that in almost every State there
were minorities, more or less numerous, who desired the adoption of a
more moderate course. In New York it is certain that the first political
CHAP. XXXVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 143
Mr. Jefferson, that separation from England ' was contemplated
with affliction by all,' and that, like Mr. Adams, many sound
Whigs ' would have given everything they possessed for a
restoration to the state of things before the contest began,
provided they could have had sufficient security for its con-
tinuance.' Then they might have done at an early moment
after the cessation of hostilities, what they actually did do in
a few years afterwards — namely, have allowed the banished
Loyalists to return from exile, and, excluding those against
whom enormities could have been proved, have conferred upon
them, and upon those who had remained to be driven away at
the peace, the rights of citizens. Most of them would have
easily fallen into respect for the new state of things, old
friendships and intimacies would have been revived, and long
before this time all would have mingled in one mass. * *
" As a matter of expediency, how unwise was it to perpetuate
the feelings of the opponents of the revolution, and to keep
them a distinct class for a time, and for harm yet unknown !
How ill-judged the measures that caused them to settle the
hitherto neglected possessions of the British Crown ! Nova
Scotia had been won and lost, and lost and won, in the struggle
between France and England, and the blood of New England
had been poured out upon its soil like water. But when the
Loyalists sought refuge there, what was it ? Before the war, the
fisheries of its coast, for the prosecution of which Halifax
itself was founded, comprised, in public estimation, its chief
value ; and though Great Britain had quietly possessed it for
about seventy years, the emigration to it of the adherents of
the Crown from the United States, in a single year, more than
doubled its population. Until hostile events brought Halifax
into notice, no civilized people were poorer than the inhabitants
of that colony; since, in 1775, the Assembly estimated that
£1,200 currency — a sum less than $5,000 — was the whole amount
of money which they possessed. By causing the expatriation,
then, of many thousands of our countrymen, among whom were
the well-educated, the ambitious, and the well-versed in politics,
we became the founders of two agricultural and commercial
parties, after the peace, were formed in consequence of divisions which, ex-
isted among the Whigs as to the lenity or severity which should be extended
to their vanquished opponents."
144 THE LOYALISTS OF AMEEICA [CHAP. XXX VIL
colonies ; for it is to be remembered that New Brunswick formed
a part of Nova Scotia until 1784, and that the necessity of the
division then made was of our own creation. In like manner
we became the founders of Upper Canada. The Loyalists were
the first settlers of the territory thus denominated by Act
of 1791 ; and the principal object of the line of division of
Canada, as established by Mr. Pitt's Act, was to place them,
as a body, by themselves, and to allow them to be governed by
laws more congenial than those which were deemed requisite for
the government of the French on the St. Lawrence. Our
expatriated countrymen were generally poor, and some of them
were actually without the means of providing for their common
wants from day to day. The Government for which they had
become exiles was as liberal as they could have asked. It gave
them lands, tools, materials for building, and the means of sub-
sistence for two years ; and to each of their children, as they
became of age, two hundred acres of land. And besides this, of
the offices created by the organization of a new Colonial Govern-
ment, they were the chief recipients. The ties of kindred and
suffering in a common cause created a strong bond of sympathy
between them, and for years, they bore the appellation of
' United Empire Loyalists.' "*
APPENDIX A. TO CHAPTER XXXVIL
Review of the Pkincipal Characteristics of the American Revo-
lution, AND Remarks on the Feelings which should now be
Cultivated by both op the Former Contending Parties.
The entire failure of the Americans to conquer Canada in
the war of 1812 — 1815 is an illustration of the folly of coerc-
ing the allegiance of a people against their will. Upper
Canada at that time consisted of less than 100,000 inhabi-
tants ; yet, with the extra aid of only a few hundred English
* Historical Essay, introductory to Colonel Sabine's Sketches of tha
American Loyalists, pp. 86 — 90.
CHAP. XXXV]],] AND THEIR TIMES. 145
soldiers, she repelled for three years the forces of the United
States — more than ten times their number, and separated only
by a river.
Mr. J. M. Ludlow, in his brief but comprehensive " History
of the War of American Independence, 1775 — 1783," Chapter
vii., well states the folly of England in endeavouring to con-
quer by arms the opinions of three millions of people, and the
impossibility of the American colonists achieving their inde-
pendence without the aid of men and money, and ships from
France, to which, in connection with Spain and Holland, the
Americans are actually indebted for their independence, and
not merely to their own sole strength and prowess, as American
writers so universally boast. Mr. Ludlow observes :
"At a time when steam had not yet baffled the winds, to
dream of conquering by force of arms, on the other side of
the Atlantic, a people of the English race, numbering between
3,000,000 and 4,000,000, with something like 1,200 miles of
seaboard, was surely an act of enormous folly. We have seen
iD our own days the difficulties experienced by the far more
powerful and populous Northern States in quelling the seces-
sion of the Southern, when between the two there was no other
frontier than at most a river, very often a mere ideal line,,
and when armies could be raised by 100,000 men at a time.
England attempted a far more difficult task, with forces which,
till 1781, never exceeded 35,000 men, and never afterwards
exceeded 42,075, including 'Provincials,' i.e., American Loyal-
ists." (But England, repeatedly on the verge of success, failed
from the incapacity and inactivity of the English generals.)
" Yet it is impossible to doubt that not once only, but repeat-
edly during the course of the struggle, England was on the
verge of triumph. The American armies were perpetually
melting away before the enemy — directly, through the prac-
tice of short enlistments ; indirectly, through desertions. These
desertions, if they might be often palliated by the straits to
which the men were reduced through arrears of pay and want
of supplies, arose in other cases, as after the retreat from New
York, from sheer loss of heart in the cause. The main army,
under Washington, was seldom even equal in numbers to that
opposed to him. In the winter of 1776-77, when his troops
were only 4,000 strong, it is difficult to understand how it was
VOL. II. — 10
146 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVIL
that Sir William Howe, with more than double the number,
should have failed to annihilate the American army."
"WEAKNESS OF THE AMERICAN ARMY.
"In the winter of 1777-78 the 'dreadful situation of the
army for want of provisions,' made Washington ' advise ' that
they should not have been excited to a general mutiny and
desertion. In May, 1779, he hardly knew any resource for the
American cause except in reinforcements froni France, and did
not know what might be the consequence if the enemy had it
in their power to press the troops hard in the ensuing cam-
paign. In December of that year his forces were ' mouldering
away daily,' and he considered that Sir Henry Clinton, with
more than twice his numbers, could ' not justify remaining in-
active with a force so superior.' A year later he was compelled,
for want of clothing, to discharge the levies which he had
always so much trouble in obtaining ; and ' want of flour would
have disbanded the whole army ' if he had not adopted this
expedient.
"In March, 1781, again the crisis was 'perilous,' and though
he did not doubt the happy issue of the contest, he considered
that the period for accomplishment might be too far distant for
a person of his years. In April he wrote : ' We cannot trans-
port provisions from the States in which they are assessed to
the army, because we cannot pay the teamsters, who will no
longer work for certificates. It is equally certain that our
troops are approaching fast to nakedness, and that we have
nothing to clothe them with ; that our hospitals are without
medicines, and our sick without nutriment, except such as well
men eat ; and that all our public works are at a stand, and the
artificers disbanding. * * It may be declared in a word that we
are at the end of our tether, and that now or never our deliver-
ance must come.' Six months later, when Yorktown capitu-
lated, the British forces remaining in North America, after the
surrender of that garrison by Cornwallis, were more consider-
able than they had been as late as February, 1779, and Sir
Henry Clinton even then declared that with a reinforcement of
10,000 he would be responsible for the conquest of America.
" The main hope of success on the English side lay in the
idea that the spirit and acts of resistance to the authority of
CHAP. XXXVU.] AND THEIR TIMES. 147
the mother country were in reality only on the part of a
turbulent minority — that the bulk of the people desired to be
loyal. It is certain indeed that the struggle was, in America
itself, much more of a civil war than the Americans are now
generally disposed to admit. In December, 1780, there were
8,954 ' Provincials ' among the British forces in America, and on
March 7th, 1781, a letter from Lord George Germaine to Sir H.
Clinton, intercepted by the Americans, says : ' The American
levies in the King's service are more in number than the whole
of the enlisted troops in the service of the Congress.' As late
as September 1st, 1781, there were 7,241. We hear of loyal
' associations ' in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Pennsylvania ;
of ' associated Loyalists ' in New York ; and everywhere of
'Tories,' whose arrest Washington is found suggesting to
Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, as early as November 12th,
1775. But New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania remained
long full of Tories. By June 28th, 1776, the disaffected on
Long Island had taken up arms, and after the evacuation of
New York by Washington a brigade of Loyalists was raised
on the island, and companies were formed in two neighbouring
counties to join the King's troops. During Washington's
retreat through New Jersey, ' the inhabitants, either from fear
or disaffection, almost to a man refused to turn out.' In Penn-
sylvania, the militia, instead of giving any assistance in
repelling the British, exulted at their approach and over the
misfortunes of their countrymen. On the 20th of that month
the British were ' daily gathering strength from the disaffected.'
In 1777, the Tories who joined Burgoyne in his expedition from
the North are said to have doubled his force. In 1778, Tories
joined the Indians in the devastation of Wyoming and Cherry
Valley ; and although the indiscriminate ravages of the British,
or of the Germans in their pay, seem to have aroused the three
States above mentioned to self-defence, yet, as late as May,
1780, Washington still speaks of sending a small party of
cavalry to escort La Fayette safely through the ' Tory settle-
ments ' of New York. Virginia, as late as the spring of 1776,
was 'alarmed at the idea of independence.' Washington
admitted that his countrymen (of that State), ' from their form
of government, and steady attachment heretofore to royalty,'
would ' come reluctantly ' to that idea, but trusted to ' time and
148 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVII.
persecution.' In 1781, the ground for transferring the seat
of war to the Chesapeake was the number of Loyalists in that
quarter. In the Southern States the division of feeling was
still greater. In the Carolinas, a royalist regiment was raised
in a few days in 1776, and again in 1779. In Georgia and in
South Carolina the bitterest partisan warfare was carried on
between Whig and Tory bands; and a body of New York
Tories contributed powerfully to the fall of Savannah in 1778,
by taking the American forces in the rear.
" On the other hand, the British generals did not receive that
support from the Loyalists which they had expected. They
seem to have looked upon the Loyalists as an inferior class of
aids to the regular soldiery ; their advice seems to have been
unsought, and the mode of war pursued was European, and not
adapted to the peculiar circumstances of America. The Loyalist
volunteers were looked upon as the rivals to rather than f ellow-
.soldiers of the regular army ; and no provincial Loyalist was
promoted to lead any expedition or command any position of
importance. This depreciation of the Loyalists by the English
(utterly incompetent) generals exactly answered the purposes of
American writers. But the real cause of its protraction, though"
it may be hard to an American to admit the fact, lay in the
incapacity of the American politicians, and, it must be added,
in the supineness and want of patriotism of the American
people. If indeed importing into the views of later date, we
look upon it as one between two nations, the mismanagement
of the war by the Americans on all points save one — the reten-
tion of Washington in the chief command — is seen to have been
so pitiable, from first to last, as to be in fact almost unintelligible."
"DESCEIPTION OF THE AMERICAN ARMY, AND THE MANNER
OF RAISING IT.
" We can only understand the case when we see there was no
such thing as an American nation in existence, but only a num-
ber of revolted colonies, jealous of one another, and with no tie
but that of common danger. Even in the army divisions broke
out. Washington, in a General Order of August, 1776, says :
' It is with great concern that the general understands that
jealousies have arisen among the troops from the different
provinces, and reflections are frequently thrown out which can
CHAP. XXX 711.] AND THEIR TIMES. 149
only tend to irritate each other and injure the noble cause in
which we are engaged.' "
"WANT OF PUBLIC SPIRIT AND PATRIOTISM IN THE STATES.
" It was seldom that much help could be obtained in troops
from any State, unless the State were immediatly threatened
by the enemy ; and even then these troops would be raised by
that State for its own defence, irrespectively of the general or
' continental army.' ' Those at a distance from the seat of war,'
wrote Washington, in April, 1778, ' live in such perfect tranquil-
lity, that they conceive the dispute to be in a manner at an end,
and those near it are so disaffected that they serve only as
embarrassments.' In January, 1779, we find him remonstrating
with the Governor of Rhode Island, because that State had
' ordered several battalions to be raised for the State only ; and
this before the proper measures are taken to fill the continental
regiments.' The different bounties and rates of pay allowed by
the various States were a constant source of annoyance to him."
"DECLINE OF CONGRESS.
" After the first year, the best men were not returned to
Congress, and did not return to it. Whole States remained
frequently unrepresented. In the winter of 1777-78, Congress
was reduced to twenty-one members. But even with a full
representation it could do little. ' One State will comply with
a requisition,' writes Washington in 1780, ' another neglects to
do it, a third executes by halves, and all differ either in the
manner, the matter, or so much in point of time, that we are
always working up-hill.'
" At first. Congress was really nothing more than a voluntary
Committee. When the Confederation was completed, which
was only, be it remembered, on March 1, 1781, it was still, as
Washington wrote in 1785, ' little more than a shadow without
a substance, and the Congress a nugatory body ; ' or, as it was
described by a late writer, ' powerless for government, and a
rope of sand for union.' "
"DECLINE OF ENERGY AND SPIRIT AMONG THE COLONISTS AND
ARMY.
" Like politicians, like people. There was, no doubt, a bril-
liant display of patriotic ardour at the first flying to arms
150 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVIL
of the colonists. Lexington and Bunker's Hill were actions
decidedly creditable to their raw troops. The expedition to
Canada, foolhardy though it proved, was pursued up to a
certain point with real heroism. But with it the heroic period
of the war (individual instances excepted) may be said to have
closed. There seems little reason to doubt that the revolution
would never have been commenced if it had been expected to
cost so tough a struggle. ' A false estimate of the power and
perseverance of our enemies,' wrote James Duane to Wash-
ington, ' was friendly to the present revolution, and inspired
that confidence of success in all ranks of the people which
was necessary to unite them in so arduous a cause.' As early
as November, 1775, Washington wrote, speaking of military
arrangements : ' Such a dearth of public spirit, and such want
of virtue — such stock -jobbing and fertility in all the low arts
to obtain advantage of one kind or another, I never saw before,
and pray God's mercy that I may never be witness to it again.'
Such a * mercenary spirit ' pervaded the whole of the troops
that he should not have been ' at all sui'prised at any disaster.'
At the same date, besides desertion of thirty or forty soldiers
at a time, he speaks of the practice of plundering as so rife
that ' no man is secure in his effects, and scai'cely in his person.'
People were ' frightened out of their houses under pretence of
those houses being ordered to be burnt, with a view of seizing
the goods ; ' and to conceal the villainy more efiectually, some
houses were actually burned down. On February 2Sth, 1777,
' the scandalous loss, waste, and private appropriation of public
arms during the last campaign ' had been ' beyond all concep-
tion.' Officers drew ' large sums under pretence of paying their
men, and appropriated them.'
" ' Can we carry on the war much longer ? ' Washington asks
in 1778, after the treaty with France and the appearance of the
French fleet off the coast. ' Certainly not, unless some measures
can be devised and speedily executed to restore the credit of
our currency and restrain extortion and punish forestall ers.'
A few days later : ' To make and extort money in every shape
that can be devised, and at the same time to decry its value,
seems to have become a mere business and an epidemical disease.'
On December 30th, 1778, ' speculation, peculation, and an insa-
tiable thirst for riches seems to have got the better of every
CHAP. XXXVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 151
consideration, and almost of every order of men; * * party
disputes and personal quarrels are the great business of the day
(in Congress), whilst the momentous concerns of an empire, a
great and accumulating debt, ruined finances, depreciated money,
and want of credit, which in its consequences is the want of
everything, are but secondary considerations."
"DECLINE OF PATRIOTIC FEELING ON THE PART OF THE
AMERICANS.
" After the first loan had been obtained from France and
spent, and a further one was granted in 1782, so utterly un-
patriotic and selfish was known to be the temper of the people
that the loan had to be kept secret, in order not to diminish
such efforts as might be made by the Americans themselves.
On July 10th of that year, with New York and Charleston
still in British hands, Washington writes : ' That spirit of
freedom which at the commencement of the contest would
have gladly sacrificed everything to the attainment of its
object, has long since subsided, and every selfish passion has
taken its place.' But, indeed, the mere fact that from the date
of the battle of Monmouth (July 28th, 1778), Washington was
never supplied with sufficient means, even with the assistance
of the French fleets and troops, to strike one blow at the
English in New York — though these were but very sparingly
reinforced during the period — shows an absence of public spirit,
one might almost say of national shame, scarcely conceivable,
and in singular contrast with the terrible earnestness exhibited
on both sides, some eighty years later, in the Secession War."
"INCAPACITY OF ENGLISH GENERALS IN AMERICA.
" Why, then, must we ask on the other side, did the English
fail at last ?
'■'The English were prone to attribute their ill success to
the incompetency of their generals. Lord North, with his
quaint humour, would say, ' I do not know whether our generals
will frighten the enemy, but I know they frighten me when-
ever I think of them.' When, in 1778, Lord Carlisle came out
as Commissioner, in a letter speaking of the great scale of all
things in America, he says, ' We have nothing on a great scale
with us but our blunders, our losses, our disgraces and misfor-
152 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVII.
tunes/ No doubt, it is difficult to account for Gage's early
blunders ; for Howe's repeated failure to follow up his own
success, or profit by his enemy's weakness ; and Comwallis's
movement, justly censured by Sir Henry Clinton, in transfer-
ring the bulk of his army from the far south to Virginia,
within marching distance of Washington, opened the way to
that crowning disaster at Yorktown, without which it is by no
means impossible that Georgia and the Carolinas might have
remained British."
"INEFFECTIVE MILITARY ARRANGEMENTS IN AMERICA.
" Political incapacity was, of course, charged upon Ministers
as another cause of disaster ; and no doubt their miscalculation
of the severity of the struggle was almost childish. But no
mistakes in the management of the war by British statesmen
can account for their ultimate failure. However great British
mismanagement may have been, it was far surpassed by the
Americans. There was nothing on the British side equal to
that caricature of a recruiting system in which different bounties
were offered by Congress, by the States, by the separate towns,
so as to make it the interest of the intended soldier to delay
enlistment as long as possible, in order to sell himself to the
highest bidder ; to that caricature of a war establishment, the
main bulk of which broke up every twelvemonth in front of
the enemy, which was only paid, if at all, in worthless paper,
and left continually without supplies. On the whole, no better
idea can be had of the nature of the struo^Qrle on the American
§ide, after the first hea,t of it bad cooled down, than from the
^ords of Count de Rochambeau, writing to Count de Verofennes,
July 10th, 1780 : ' They have neither money nor credit ; their
means of resistance are only momentary, and called forth when
they are attacked in their own homes. They then assemble for
the moment of immediate danger and defend themselves.' "
<< FRENCH MONEY, TROOPS, AND SHIPS TURN THE SCALE IN
FAVOUR OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
"A far more important cause in determining the ultimate
failure of the British was the aid afforded by France to America,
followed by that of Spain and Holland. It was impossible for
England to re-conquer a continent and carty on a war at the
CHAP. XXXVI t.] AND THEIR TIMES. 153
same time with the three most powerful naval States of Europe.
The instincts of race have tended on both the English and
American side to depreciate the value of. the aid given by-
France to the colonists. It may be true that Rochambeau's
troops, which disembarked on Rhode Island in July, 1780, did
not march till July, 1781 ; that they were blockaded soon after
their arrival, threatened with attack from New York, and only
disengaged by a feint of Washington's on that city. But more
than two years before their arrival, Washington wrote to a
member of Congress : ' France, by her supplies, has saved us
from the yoke thus far.' The treaty with France alone was
considered to aiford a ' certain prospect of success ' to ' secure '
American independence. The arrival of D'Estaing's fleet,
although no troops joined the American army, and nothing
eventually was done, determined the evacuation of Philadelphia.
The discipline of the French troops, when they landed in 1780,
set an example to the Americans ; chickens and pigs walked
between the lines without being disturbed. The recruits of
1780 could not have been armed without fifty tons of ammuni-
tion supplied by the French. In September of that year,
Washington, writing to the French envoy, speaks of the
'inability' of the Americans to expel the British from the
South unassisted, or perhaps even to stop their career ;' and he
writes in similar terms to Congress a few days later. To
depend ' upon the resources of the country, unassisted by foreign
loans,' he writes to a member of Congress two months later,
'will, I am confident, be to lean upon a broken reed.' In
January, 1781, writing to Colonel Laurens,* the American
envoy in Paris, he presses for ' an immediate, ample, efiScacious
succour in money from France,' also for the maintenance on the
American coasts of ' a constant naval superiority,' and likewise
for ' an additional succour in troops.' And since the assistance
so requested was in fact granted in every shape, and the
surrender of Yorktown was obtained by the co-operation both
of the French army and fieet, we must hold that Washington's
word^ were justified by the event. "f
* War of American Independence, 1777 — 1783, by John Malcolm Lud-
low, Chap, vii., pp. 215—227.
t Dr. Ramsay says : " Pathetic representations were made to the Ministers
of his Most Christian Majesty by Washington, Dr. Franklin, and particu-
154 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVII.
APPENDIX B. TO CHAPTER XXXVII.
Eeflections of Lord Mahon on the American Contest and its
Results — Apology for George the Third — XJnhappiness op
Americans since the Eevolution — Unity of the Anglo-Saxon
Race.
At this period (Declaration of Independence), the culminating
point in the whole American war, I may be forgiven for desiring
to interrupt its narrative in order to review its course and its
results. That injurious and oppressive acts of power had been
inflicted by England upon America, I have in many places
shown, and do most fully acknowledge. That from the other
side, and above all from Massachusetts, there had been strong
provocation, I must continue to maintain. I should. not deem
it consistent with candour to deny that the Americans had suffi-
cient ground for resisting, as they did resist, the Ministerial and
Parliamentary measures. But whether these had yet attained
a pitch to justify them in discarding and renouncing their
allegiance to the Throne is a far more doubtful question — a
question on which perhaps neither an Englishman nor yet an
American could quite impartially decide.
" The time has come, however, as I believe and trust, when it
is possible to do equal jastice to the many good and upright men
who in this great struggle embraced the opposite sides. The
great mass of the people meant honestly on both shores of the
Atlantic. The two chief men in both countries were alike
pure-minded. On the one side there were deeds that savoured
of tyranny ; on the other side there were deeds that savoured
of rebellion ; yet at heart George the Third was never a tyrant,
nor Washington ever a rebel. Of Washington I most firmly
believe, that no single act appears in his whole public life pro-
ceeding from any other than public, and those the highest
larly by Lieutenant-Colonel John Laurens, wlio was sent to the Court of
Versailles as a special Minister on this occasion. The King of France gave
the United States a subsidy [as a present] of six millions of livres, and be-
came their security for ten millions more, borrowed for their use in the United
Netherlands." (History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap, xxiii., p. 407.)
CHAP. XXXVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 155
motives. But my persuasion is no less firm that there would
be little flattery in applying the same terms of respect and
commendation to the ' good old king.' I do not deny, indeed,
that some degree of prejudice and pride may, though uncon-
sciously, have mingled with his motives. I do not deny that
at the outset of these troubles he lent too ready an ear to the
glozing reports of his governors and deputies, the Hutchin-
sons or Olivers, Gateses, Dunmores, etc., assuring him that the
discontents were confined to a factious few, and that
measures of rigour and repression alone were needed. For
such measures of rigour he may deserve, and has incurred, his
share of censure. But after the insurgent colonies had pro-
claimed their independence, is it just to blame King George, as
he often has been blamed, for his steadfast and resolute resist-
ance to that claim ? Was it for him, unless after straining every
nerve against it, to forfeit a portion of his birthright and a jewel
of his crown ? Was it for him, though the clearest case of
necessity, to allow the rending asunder his empire — to array for
all time to come of several millions of his people against the rest ?
After calling on his loyal subjects in the colonies to rise, after
requiring and employing their aid, was it for him, on any light
grounds, to relinquish his cause and theirs, and yield them over,
unforgiven, to the vengeance of their countrymen ? Was it
for him to overlook the consequences, not even yet, perhaps
in their full extent unfolded, of such a precedent of victory
to popular and colonial insurrection ? May not the King,
on the contrary, have deemed that on such a question, touch-
ing as it did both his honour and his rights, he was bound
to be firm — firmer than even the firmest of his Ministers ? Not,
of course, that he could be justified for persevering ; but, in
truth, he did not so persevere after every reasonable hope had
failed. Not, of course, that he could be excused from continu-
ing to demand, or to expect, unconditional submission ; but, as
his own letters to Lord North assure us, such an idea was never
harboured in his mind. To do his duty conscientiously, as he
should answer it to God hereafter, and according to the lights
he had received, such was his unceasing aim and endeavour
from the day when, young but superior to the frailties of
youth, he first assumed the reins of government, until that
dismal period, half a century later, when, bowed down by years
156 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVII.
and sorrows, and blind, doubly blind, he concluded his reign,
though not, as yet, his life.
" Before the American war had commenced, and during its
first period, nearly all the statesmen and writers of England
argued, or rather took for granted as too plain to stand in need
of argument, that separation from our colonies would most
grievously impair, if not wholly ruin, the parent State. * *
It is worthy of note how much our experience has run counter
to the general prognostication — how little the loss was felt, or
how quickly the void was supplied. An historian of high and
just authority — Mr. Macaulay — has observed that England was
never so rich, so great, so formidable to foreign princes, so
absolutely mistress of the sea, as since the alienation of the
American colonies. (Essays, Vol. II.) The true effect of that
alienation upon ourselves, as time has shown, has been not
positive, but by compai"ison it has lain not in the withdrawal of
wealth and population and resources, but in raising up a rival
State from the same race, and with powers and energies not
inferior to our own.
" But how far, and in what degree, has the new form of gov-
ernment promoted the happiness of the United States them-
selves ? * * It would be folly, or worse than folly, to deny
that since their independence the prosperity of the United
States has advanced with gigantic strides ; that they have grown
to be a first-rate power ; that immense works of public utility
have been achieved with marvellous speed ; that the clearing of
new lands and the building of new cities have been such as to
outstrip the most sanguine calculations ; that among them the
working classes have been, in no common degree, well paid and
prosperous ; that a feeling for the national honour is in no country
stronger ; that the first elements of education have been most
widely diffused ; that many good and brave men have been trained
and are training to the service of the Commonwealth. But
have their independent institutions made them, on the whole, a
happy and contented people ? That, among themselves, is often
proclaimed as undeniable ; and certainly among themselves it
may not always be safely denied. That, however, is not always
the impression conveyed to him who only sojourns in their
land, by the careworn faces, by the hurried steps, by the un-
social meals which he sees, or by the incessant party cries
CHAP. XXXVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. ]57
which he hears around him ; by the fretful aspirations and the
feverish hopes resulting from the unbounded space of competi-
tion open to them without check or barrier ; and by the in-
numerable disappointments and heartburnings which in con-
sequence arise. On the true condition of North America, let
us mark the correspondence between two of the greatest and
most highly gifted of her sons. There is now open before me a
letter which, in August, 1837, and on the annexation of Texas,
Dr. Channing wrote to Mr. Clay. In that letter, as published
in Boston, I find the following words (and what Dr Channing
said in 1837 has been illustrated in scores of instances since
that time, and greatly enlianced by the events of the civil war) :
" ' I cannot do justice to this topic without speaking freely of
our country, as freely as I should of any other ; and unhappily
we are so accustomed, as a people, to receive incense, to be
soothed by flattery, and to account reputation a more important
interest than morality, that my freedom may be construed into
a kind of disloyalty. But it would be wrong to make conces-
sions to this dangerous weakness. * * Among us a spirit of
lawlessness pervades the community which, if not repressed,
threatens the dissolution of our present forms of society. Even
in the old States, mobs are taking the government into their
hands, and a profligate newspaper finds little difiiculty in
stirring up multitudes to violence. * * Add to all this the
invasions of the rights of speech and of the press by lawless
force, the extent and toleration of which oblige us to believe
that a considerable portion of our citizens have no comprehen-
sion of the first principles of liberty. It is an undeniable fact
that, in consequence of these and other symptoms, the confi-
dence of many reflecting men in our free institutions is very
much impaired. Some despair. That main pillar of public
liberty — mutual trust among citizens — is shaken. That we
must seek security for property and life in a stronger govern-
ment is a spreading conviction. Men who in public talk of the
ability of our institutions, whisper their doubts, perhaps their
scorn, in private.
" ' Whether the people of the United States might have been
as thriving and more happy had they remained British subjects,
I will not presume to say. Certainly not if violent men like
Lord Hillsborough, or corrupt men like Mr, Rigby, had con-
158 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVJl.
tinned to take part in the administration. With other hands at
the helm the case might have been otherwise. Jefferson, at
least, in his first draft of the Declaration of Independence, said
of his countrymen and of the English : " We might have been
a free and great people together." One thing, at all events,
is plain, that had these colonies shared the fate of the other
dominions of the British Crown, the main curse and shame —
the plague spot of the system of slavery — would have been long
since removed from them (before it was) ; but, as in the case of
Jamaica, not without a large compensation in money to the
slavfe owners. It is also plain that in the case supposed they
would have equally shared in our pride and glory at the won-
drous growth of the Anglo-Saxon race — that race undivided
and entire, extending its branches as now to the furthest regions
of the earth, yet all retaining their connection with the parent
stem — all its members bound by the same laws, all animated
by the same loyalty, and all tending to the same public-spirited
aim. How great a nation should we and they be together ! —
how great in the arts both of peace and war ! scarcely unequal
now to all other nations of the world combined ! " '^ *
"Since 1782 at the latest, views like these are merely day-
dreams of the past. In place of them, let us now indulge the
hope and expectation that the American people may concur
with ours in desiring that no further resentment may be
nourished, no further strife be stirred, between the kindred
nations ; so that both, mindful of their common origin, and
conscious of their growing greatness, may both alike discard, as
unworthy of them, all mean and petty jealousies, and be ever
henceforth what nature has designed them — friends."*
* Lord Mahon's History of England, etc., Vol. VI., Chap, liii., pp. 150 —
160.
CHAP. XXXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 159
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Treatment of the Loyalists by the British Government and
Parliament after the Revolution.
PART I.
proceedings in parliament — refusal of the states to compensate
the loyalists.
It has been seen, by the fact stated in the last preceding
chapter, that the promised recommendations of Congress to the
several States, as agreed upon by the English and American
Commissioners of the peace negotiations at Paris, were, as had
been expected and predicted by Dr. Franklin at the time, with-
out any result, the State Legislatures passing Acts to proscribe
rather than compensate the Loyalists. In justification of these
Acts, the American writers of that period, and largely down to
the present time, assailed the character of the Loyalists in the
grossest language of calumny and abuse ; but the most respect-
able American writers of the present age bear testimony to the
intelligence, wealth, and respectability of the Loyalists; and
the fact, no longer questionable, that they sacrificed wealth,
liberty, country, and chose poverty and exile, in support of their
principles, has fully vindicated their character and presented
their conduct in advantageous contrast with that of those who
deprived them of their liberty, and largely profited by the con-
fiscation of their immense property, while they and their
families were pining in exile and want,
•f The only resource of the exiled and impoverished Loyalists,
under such circumstances, was the Government and Parliament
of the mother countrj^ to which they had so faithfully adhered,
160 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXX VIII.
and nothing could be more honourable than the testimony
borne in the British Parliament to their character and merits,
and the consideration given to their wants and claims. The
fifth Article of the Treaty of Paris, leaving the Loyalists to the
recommendation of the Congress to the Legislatures of the
several States, was severely reprobated in both Houses of Par-
liament. In the House of Commons, Mr. Wilberforce said that
" when he considered the case of the Loyalists, he confessed he
felt himself conquered ; there he saw his country humiliated ;
he saw her at the feet of America; still he was induced to
believe that Congress would religiously comply with the Article,
and that the Loyalists would obtain redress from America.
Should they not, this country was bound to afibrd it them.
They tnust he compensated; Ministers, he was persuaded,
meant to keep the faith of the nation ivith them"
Lord North (who had been Prime Minister during twelve
years, including the war) said :
" And now let me, Sir, pause on a part of the treaty which
awakens human sensibility in a very irresistible and lamentable
degree. I cannot but lament the fate of those unhappy men,
who, I conceive, were in general objects of our gratitude and
protection. The Loyalists, from their attachments, surely had
some claim to our atfection. Bvit what were not the claims of
those who, in conformity to their allegiance, their cheerful
obedience to the voice of Parliament, their confidence in the
proclamation of our generals, invited under every assurance of
military, parliamentary, political, and affectionate protection,
espoused with the hazard of their lives, and the forfeiture of
their properties, the cause of Great Britain ? / cannot hut feel
for men thus sacrificed for their bravery and principles — men
who have sacrificed all the dearest possessions of the Kuman
heart. They have exposed their lives, endured an age of hard-
ships, deserted their interests, forfeited their possessions, lost
their connections, and ruined their families in our cause. Could
not all this waste of human enjoyment excite one desire of pro-
tecting them from a state of misery, with which the implacable
resentment of the States has desired to punish their loyalty to
their Sovereign and their attachment to their mother country A
Had we not espoused their cause from a princiijle of affection
and gratitude, we should, at least, have protected them to have
u
CHAP. XXXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES, 161
'preserved our own honour. If not tender of their feelings, we
should have been tender of our own character. Never was the
honour, the princijjles, the policy of a nation so grossly abused
as in the desertion of those men, who are now exposed to every
punishment that desertion and poverty can inflict, because they
were not rebels."
Lord Mulgrave said : " The Article respecting the Loyalists
he never could regard but as a lasting monument of national
disgrace. Nor was this Article, in his opinion, more reproachful
and derogatory to the honour and gratitude of Great Britain
than it appeared to be wanton and unnecessary. The hon-
ourable gentleman who had made the motion had asked if those
gentlemen who thought the present peace not sufficiently ad
vantageous to Great Britain, considering her circumstances,
could consent to pay the amount which another campaign
(twenty millions) would have put us to, for the degree of ad-
vantage they might think we had a right to expect ? In answer
to this, he declared, for one, he had rather, large as the esti-
mated sum in question was, have had it stipulated in the treaty,
that Great Britain should apply it to making good the losses of
the Loyalists, than that they should have been so sham,efully
deserted and the national honour so pointedly disgraced as it
was by the fifth Article of the treaty with the United States."
Mr. Secretary Townsend (afterwards Lord Sydney) said
" he was ready to admit that many of the Loyalists had the
strongest claims upon the country ; and he trusted, should the
recommendation of Congress to the American States prove
unsuccessful, which he flattered himself would not be the case,
this country would feel itself bound in honour to make them
full compensation for their losses."
Mr. Burke said : " At any rate, it must be agreed on all hands
that a vast number of Loyalists had been deluded by this
country, and had risked everything in our cause ; to such men
the nation owed protection, and its honour was pledged for
their security at all hazards."
The Lord Advocate said : " With regard to the Loyalists, they
merited every possible effort on the part of this country."
Mr. Sheridan " execrated the treatment of those unfortunate
men, who, without the least notice taken of their civil and
religious rights, were handed over as subjects to a power that
VOL. II. — 11
162 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVIII.
would not fail to take vengeance on them for their zeal and
attachment to the religion and government of this country.
This was an instance of British degradation not inferior to
the unmanly petitions to Congress for the wretched Loyalists.
Great Britain at the feet of Congress, suing in vain, was not
a humiliation or a stigma greater than the infamy of consign-
ing over the loyal inhabitants of Florida, as we had done, with-
out any conditions whatsoever."
" The Honourable Mr. Norton said that ' Under the circum-
stances, he was willing to approve of the two former (European
treaties with France and Spain) ; but on account of the Article
relating to the Loyalists, he felt it impossible to give his assent
to the latter."
Sir Peter Burrell said : " The fate of the Loyalists claimed
the compassion of every human breast. These helpless, forlorn
men, abandoned by the Ministers of a people on whose justice,
gratitude, and humanity they had the best-founded claims,
were left at the mercy of a Congress highly irritated against
them. He spoke not from party zeal, but as an independent
country gentleman, who, unconnected with party, expressed the
emotions of his heart and gave vent to his honest indignation."
Sir William Bootle said : " There was one part of the treaty
at which his heart bled — the Article relative to the Loyalists.
Being a man himself, he could not but feel for men so cruelly
abandoned to the malice of their enemies. It was scandalous ;
it was disgraceful. Such an Article as that ought scarcely on
any condition to have been admitted on our part. They
had fought for ijs and run every hazard to assist our cause ;
and when it most behoved us to afford them protection, we
deserted them."
Several other members spoke to the same effect. The treaty
recognizing the Independence of America could not be reversed,
as an Act passed the previous session had expressly authorized
the King and his Cabinet to make it ; but it was denied that
a treaty sacrificing the Loyalists and making the concessions
involved had been authorized; in consequence of which an
express vote of censure was passed by the Commons by a
majority of seventeen. The Earl of Shelburne, the Prime
Minister, forthwith resigned in consequence of this vote of
censure, and it was nearly three months before a new Adminis-
CHAP. XXXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 163
tration could be formed ; and during this administrative inter-
regnum affairs were in great confusion.
In the House of Lords, Lord Walsinghani said that " he could
neither think nor speak of the dishonour of leaving these deserv-
ing people to their fate with patience." Lord Viscount Townsend
considered that " to desert men who had constantly adhered to
loyalty and attachment, was a circumstance of such cruelty
as had never before been heard of." Lord Stormont said that
" Britain was bound in justice and honour, gratitude and affec-
tion, and by every tie, to provide for and protect them." Lord
SackviUe regarded " the abandonment of the Loyalists as a
thing of so atrocious a kind, that if it had not been painted in all
its horrid colours he should have attempted the ungracious task
but never should have been able to describe the cruelty in
language as strong and expressive as were his feelings ;" and
again, that "peace on the sacrifice of these unhappy subjects
must be answered in the sight of God and man." Lord Lough-
borough said that " the fifth Article of the treaty had excited
a general and just indignation, and that neither in ancient
nor modern history had there been so shameful a deser-
tion of men who had sacrificed all to their duty and to their
reliance on British faith."
In reply. Lord Shelburne, the Prime Minister, frankly ad-
mitted that the Loyalists were left without better provi-
sion being made for them " from the unhappy necessity of
public affairs, which induced the extremity of submitting the
fate of their property to the discretion of their enemies ;" and
he continued : " I have but one answer to give the House — it is
the answer I gave my own bleeding heart — a part must be
wounded, that the whole of the empire may not perish. If
better terms could be had, think you, my lords, that I Avould
not have embraced them ? / had but the alternative either to
accept the terms proposed or continue the war." The Lord
Chancellor held that the stipulations of the treaty were
" specific," and said : " My own conscious honour will not allow
me to doubt the good faith of others, and my good wishes to the
Loyalists will not let me indiscreetly doubt the disposition of
Congress, since the understanding is that all these unhappy
men shall be provided for ; yet, if it were not" so, Parliament
could take cognizance of their case, and impart to each suffering
164 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVIII.
individual that relief which reason, perhaps policy, certainly
virtue and religion, required."
Such were the sentiments of members in both Houses of
Parliament, and of both parties, as to the character and merits of
the Loyalists. But there were no prospects of the States com-
pensating them for their losses. Indeed, this idea was enter-
tained by Lord Shelburne himself, and that compensation would
have to be made to the Loyalists by Parliament when, in the
speech above quoted, he said that " without one drop of blood
spilt, and without one-fifth of the expense of one year's cam-
paign, happiness and ease can be given to them in as ample a
manner as these blessings were ever in their enjoyment." This
was certainly a very low and mercenary view of the subject.
It was one thing for the Loyalists to have their rights as British
subjects maintained while they were obeying the commands of
the King and maintaining their allegiance to the empire, and
another thing for them to become pensioners upon the bounty
of the British Parliament, to be paid in pounds, shillings, and
pence for the rights and privileges which should have been
sec\ired to them by national treaty as British subjects. The
House of Commons had adopted a resolution against continuing
the American war for the puiyose of enforcing the submission
of the colonies ; but it had not resolved against continuing the
war to protect the rights and property of British subjects in the
colonies. A campaign for this purpose, on the refusal of the
American Commissioners to recognise what was sanctioned by
the laws and usages of nations, would have been honourable to
the British Government, would have been popular in England,
and would have divided America ; for there were many
thousand " Whigs " in America, who believed in the equity of
treating the Loyalists after the war as all others were treated
who conformed to the laws, as has been the case in Holland,
Ireland, and Spain. England was then mistress of the seas,
held New York, Charleston, Rhode Island, Penobscot, and other
military posts, and could soon have induced the Americans to
do what their Peace Commissioners at Paris had refused to do
— place British subjects in America upon the same footing as
to property that they possessed before the war, and that they
possess in the United States at this day. England could have
easily and successfully refused granting to the United States
CHAP. XXXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 165
a foot of land beyond the limits of the thirteen colonies, and
thus have secured those vast western territories now constitut-
ing the larger part of the United States, and retained the garri-
sons of New York, Rhode Island, and Charleston as guarantees
until the stipulated conditions in regard to the Loyalists should
be fulfilled. A joint Commission in America could have settled
upon equitable grounds all disputed claims in much less time
than the six years occupied by a Parliamentary Commission in
examining into and deciding upon the individual claims of
Loyalist claimants. If the war to reduce the colonies to absolute
submission had been unpopular in England, the peace upon the
terms submitted to by the English Commissioners and the
Ministry was equally unpopular. If England had been wrong
in its war of coercion against the revolting colonists, was she
not equally wrong, and more than wrong, in abandoning to
their enemies those who had abided faithful to her laws and
commands ? The language of the speeches of members of both
Houses of Parliament, above quoted, is as just as it is severe ;
although much could be and was said in justification of the
policy of the Government in promoting peace upon almost any
terms, seeing that England was at war with the three most
powerful naval nations of Europe, besides that in America.
The fallacy of the argument employed by the advocates of
the treaty, that the Americans would honourably fulfil the re-
commendations of Congress, was illustrated by the following
facts :
" The province of Virginia, a short time before the peace, had
come to an unanimous conclusion ' that all demands or requests
of the British Court for the restoration of property confiscated
by the State were wholly impossible ; and that their delegates
should be instructed to move Congress that they should direct
the deputies for adjusting peace not to agree to any such resti-
tution.' "
TJie State of New York resolved, " That it appears to this
Legislature that divers of the inhabitants of this State have
continued to adhere to the King of Great Britain, after these
States were declared free and independent, and persevered in
aiding the said king, his fleets and armies, to subjugate the
United States to bondage : Resolved, That as on the one hand
the scales of justice do not require, so on the other the public
166 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVIIl,
tranquillity will not permit, that such adherents who have been
attainted should be restored to the rights o£ citizens, and that
there can be no reason for restoring property which has been
confiscated or forfeited."
PART 11.
AGENTS OF LOYALISTS — PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION —
RESULTS.
Of course all hope of obtaining relief under the stipulations
of the treaty was abandoned by the Loyalists, who "now
applied to the Government which they had ruined themselves to
serve, and many of them, who had hitherto been ' refugees '
in different parts of America, went to England to state and
recover payment for their losses. They organized an agency,
and appointed a Committee composed of one delegate or agent
from each of the thirteen States,* to enlighten the British
public, and adopt measures of proceeding in securing the attention
and action of the British Ministry in their behalf. In a tract
printed by order of these agents (which now lies before us,
entitled The Case and Claim of American Loyalists impar-
tially Stated and Considered, published in 1783), it is maintained
that ' it is an established rule, that all sacrifices made by in-
dividuals for the benefit and accommodation of others shall be
equally sustained by all those who partake of it,' and nume-
rous cases are cited from Puflfendorf, Burlamaqui and Vattel, to
show that the 'sacrifices' of the Loyalists were embraced in
this principle. As a further ground of claim, it is stated that
in case of territory alienated or ceded away by one sovereign
power to another, the rule is still applicable ; for that in the
treaties of international law it is held, ' The State ought to
* The names of the agents, or delegates, are as follows :
W. Pepperell, for the Massachusetts Loyalists ; J. Wentworth, jun., for
the New Hampshire Loyalists ; George Rowe, for the Rhode Island Loyal-
ists ; Ja. Delancey, for the New York Loyalists ; David Ogden, for the New
Jersey Loyalists ; Joseph Galloway, for the Pennsylvania and Delaware
Loyalists ; Robert Alexander, for the Maryland Loyalists ; John R. Grymes,
for the Virginia Loyalists ; Henry Eustace McCulloch, for the North Carolina
Loyalists ; James Simpson, for the South Carolina Loyalists ; William Knox,
for the Georgia Loyalists.
CHAP. XXXVIII.] AND THEIE TIMES. 167
indemnify the subject for the loss he has sustained beyond his
proportion.' And in the course pursued at the close of the
civil war in Spain, when the States of Holland obtained
their independence, under the Treaty of Utrecht, and at various
other periods, proved that the rights of persons similarly situated
had been respected and held inviolate. The conclusion arrived
at from the precedents in history, and diplomacy, and in the
statute-books of the realm, is, that as the Loyalists were as
' perfectly subjects of the British State as any man in London
or Middlesex, they were entitled to the same protection and
relief.' The claimants had been ' called by their sovereign, when
surrounded by tumult and rebellion, to defend the supreme
rights of the nation, and to assist in suppressing a rebellion
which aimed at their destruction. They have received from the
highest authority the most solemn assurances of protection, and
even reward, for their meritorious services ;' and that ' His
Majesty and the two Houses of Parliament having thought it
necessary, as the price of peace, or to the interest and safety of
the empire, or from some other motive of public convenience, to
ratify the Independence of America, without securing any
restitution whatever to the Loyalists, they conceive that the
nation is bound, as well by the fundamental laws of society as
by the invariable and external principles of natural justice, to
make them compensation.' "*
Though the treaty of peace left the Loyalists to the mercy —
rather to the resentment (as the result proved) — of the Ameri-
can States, and as such received the censure of the House of Com-
mons, British justice and honour recognized the claims of the
Loyalists to compensation for their losses, as well as to gratitude
for their fidelity to the unity of the empire. The King, at the
opening of the session of Parliament, said : " I have ordered
inquiry to be made into the application of the sum to be voted
in support of the American sufferers ; and I trust you will
agree with me, that a due and generous attention ought to be
shown to those who have relinquished their properties or pro-
fessions from motives of loyalty to me, or attachment to the
-•' Another very able pamphlet was issued some time afterwards, entitled
" Claims of the American Loyalists Eeviewed and Maintained upon the
Incontrovertible Principles of Law and Justice ;" printed in London, 1788.
168 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVIII.
mother country." Accordingly, a Bill was introduced and
passed without opposition in June, 1783, entitled "An Act
Appointing Commissioners to Inquire into the Losses and
Services of all such Persons who have Suffered in their Rights,
Properties, and Professions, during the late Unhappy Dissen-
sions in America, in consequence of their Loyalty to his
Majesty and Attachment to the British Government."
The Commissioners named were John Wilmot, M.P., Daniel
Parker Coke, M.P., Esquires, Col. Robert Kingston, Col. Thomas
Dundas, and John Marsh, Esquire, who, after preliminary pre-
parations, began their inquiry in the first week of October, and
proceeded, with short intermissions, through the following winter
and spring. The time for presenting claims was first limited
by the Act to the 25th of March, 1784 ; but the time was
extended by the renewal of the Act, from time to time, until
1789, when the Commissioners presented their twelfth and last
report, and Parliament finally disposed of the whole matter in
1790, seven years after its commencement.
The Commissioners, according to their first report, divided
the Loyalists into six classes, as follows : 1. Those who had
rendered service to Great Britain. 2. Those who had borne
arms for Great Britain. 3. Uniform Loyalists. 4 Loyal Eng-
lish subjects resident in Great Britain. 5. Loyalists who had
taken oaths to the American States, but afterwards joined the
British. 6. Loyalists who had borne arms for the American
States, but afterwards joined the British navy or army. The
reason for this classification is not very apparent ; for all showed
alike who were able to establish their losses, without reference
to differences of merit, or the time or circumstances of their
.adhering to the Crown.
Every applicant was required to furnish proof of his loyalty,
and of every species of loss for which he claimed compensation ;
in addition to which each claimant was put upon his oath as to
his alleged losses ; and if in any case perjury or fraud were
believed to have been practised, the claimant was at once cut
off from his whole claim. The rigid rules which the Com-
missioners laid down and enforced in regard to claimants,
examining each claimant and the witnesses in his behalf sepa-
rately and apart, caused much dissatisfaction, and gave the pro-
ceeding more the character of an Inquisition than of Inquiry.
CHAP. XXXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 169
It seemed to place the claimants almost in the position of
criminals on whom rested the burden of proof to establish their
own innocence and character, rather than in that of Loyalists
who had faithfully served their King and country, and lost
their homes and possessions in doing so. Very many, probably
the large majority of claimants, could not possibly prove the exact
value of each species of loss which they had sustained years
before, in houses, goods, stocks of cattle, fields with their crops
and produce, woods with their timber, etc., etc. In such a
proceeding the most unscrupulous would be likely to fare the
best, and the most scrupulous and conscientious the worst ; and
it is alleged that many false losses were allowed to persons who
had suffered no loss, while many other sufferers received no
compensation, because they had not the means of bringing
witnesses from America to prove their losses, in addition to
their own testimony.
The chairman of the Commission admits the delay and
difficulty caused by the mode of proceeding adopted by the
Commissioners. He says : " The investigation of the property
of each claimant, and of the value of each article of that
property, real and personal, could not but be attended with a
good deal of time as well as much caution and difficulty, each
claim in fact branching out into so many articles, or rather
distinct causes, in which the Commissioners were obliged to
execute the office of both judge and jury, or rather of arbitra-
tors between the nation on one side, and the individual on the
other, whose whole patrimony as well as character depended
on their verdict."*
The Act passed in 1783, authorizing the inquiry, being limited
to two years, expired in July, 1785, but was renewed with some
additions, one of which was a clause to empower the Com-
missioners to appoint proper persons to repair to America
"to inquire into such circumstances as they might think
* " Historical View of the Commission for Inquiry into the Losses, Services,
and Claims of the American Loyalists, at the Close of the War between Great
Britain and her Colonies in 1783 ; with an Account of the Compensation
granted to them by Parliament in 1785 and 1788." By John Eardley
Wilmot, Esq. London, 1815. Dedicated " To His Most Gracious Majesty
Gaorge the Third, equally distinguished for justice and beneficence to his
subjects and for humanity to his enemies."
170 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVITI.
material for better ascertaining the several claims which had
been or should be presented to them under this or the former
Act of Parliament." The Commissioners appointed John
Anstey, Esq., a barrister-at-law, as agent to the United States,
" to obtain information as to the confiscation, sale, and value of
landed estates, and the total loss of the property of the claim-
ants," respecting which he procured much valuable and authen-
tic information and testimony. They sent Colonel Thomas
Dundas and Mr. Jeremy Pemberton, two members of the Board,
to visit Nova Scotia and Canada, " to inquire into the claims
of such persons as could not without great inconvenience go
over to Great Britain."
Before the 25th of March, 1784, the latest period allowed by
the first Act for presenting claims, the number of claimants
was 2,063, and the property alleged by them to have been lost,
according to their schedules, amounted to £7,046,278, besides
debts to the amount of £2,354,135. The sum was very large,
but the losses were undoubtedly very great. The Commis-
sioners made their first report in July, 1784 ; and after having
detailed their assiduous proceeding in the fulfilment of their
trust, and care in examining and deciding on individual cases,
reported on the part of the cases submitted, and awarded
£201,750 for £534,705 claimed, reducing the amount by more
than half the amount claimed.
The second report of the Commissioners was made in Decem-
ber of the same year, and states that 128 additional cases had
been examined and disposed of, the amount claimed being £693,
257, and the amount allowed was £150,935— less than one-fourth
the amount claimed.
One hundred and twenty-two (122) cases were examined into
and disposed of in May and July, 1785, according to the third
and fourth reports — the amount claimed being £898,196, and
the amount allowed being £253,613 — less than one-third of the
amount claimed.
In April, 1786, the fifth report of the Commissioners was
presented, announcing that 142 other claims had been considered
and decided, the claims amounting to £733,311, on which the
Commissioners allowed £250,506 — a little more than one-third
of the amount claimed.
The Commissioners proceeded in the same manner with their
CHAP. XXXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 171
investigations, and with about the same results, in 1786 and
1787.*
On the 5th of April, 1788, the Commissioners reported that
they had examined into and declared upon 1,680 claims, and
had allowed the sum of £1,887,548 for their payment.
Under all the circumstances, it appears scarcely possible that
the Commissioners could have proceeded with more despatch
than they did. But the delay caused much dissatisfaction
among the Loyalists, whose agents petitioned both King and
Parliament on the delay, or on the course pursued by the Com-
missioners, or on some subject connected with the claims of the
Loyalists. Essays and tracts were published ; letters and com-
munications appeared in the newspapers on the subject ; in
1786, the agents of the Loyalists presented a petition to Parlia-
* It has already been mentioned that the Lei,dslatnre of South Carolina
(the only State of the American Republic) had taken steps to restore the
estates of several of her Loyalists. This " caused the withdrawal of the
claims of their owners (before the English Commissioners), except that in
instances of alleged strip and waste, amercements, and similar losses, in-
quiries were instituted to ascertain the value of what was taken compared
with that which was returned."
The English Commissioners, in their twelfth and last report, remark on
this subject as follows :
" We thought it our duty to state, in our second report of the 24th Decem-
ber, 1784, that the State of South Carolina had, by an Act of the 24th
March, 1784, restored the confiscated property of certain Loyalists, subject to
the restrictions therein mentioned ; and that in consequence thereof many
had withdrawn the claims they had before presented to us. We find,
however, that in many instances the parties have not been able to reap that
advantage they had expected, and which the Act above-mentioned held out to
them. In some instances the property restored has been so wasted and
injured as to be of little value ; in others, the amercements and charges have
been nearly equal to the value of the fee simple of the estates ; and in
many, where the indents (o), being the species of money received by the State,
have been restored to the former proprietors, an inevitable and considerable
loss has been sustained by the depreciation. In all these cases we have made
minute inquiry into the real benefit that has been derived from such restitu-
tion, whether of the property itself, or of the indents in lieu of it; and ha^^ng
endeavoured to ascertain, as nearly as the circumstances would admit, the
value of what was lost and the value of what was restored, we have con-
sidered the difference as the real loss of the party."
(a) Indent — A certificate, or indented certificate, issued by the Government
of the United States at the close of the revolution, for the principal or
interest of the public debt. — Webster.
172 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVIII.
ment, which contained among other things the following touch-
ing words : " It is impossible to describe the poignant distress
under which many of these persons now labour, and which
must daily increase should the justice of Parliament be delayed
until all the claims are liquidated and reported ; * * ten years
have elapsed since many of them have been deprived of their
fortunes, and with their helpless families reduced from inde-
pendent affluence to poverty and want ; some of them now
languishing in British jails ; others indebted to their creditors,
who have lent them money barely to support their existence,
and who, unless speedily relieved, must sink more than the
value of their claims when received, and be in a worse con-
dition than if they had never made them ; others have already
sunk under the pressure and severity of their misfortunes ; and
others must, in all probability, soon meet the same melancholy
fate, should the justice due them be longer postponed. But, on
the contrary, should provision be now made for payment of
those whose claims have been settled and reported, it will not
only relieve them from their distress, but give credit to others
whose claims remain to be considered, and enable all of them to
provide for their wretched families, and become again useful
members of society."
Two years later, in 1788, a tract was published by a Loyalist,
entitled " The Claim of the American Loyalists Reviewed and
Maintained upon Incontrovertible Principles of Law and Justice."
The writer of that tract thus forcibly states the situation of
the Loyalists : " It is well known that this delay of justice has
produced the most melancholy and shocking events. A number
of sufferers have been driven into insanity and become their
own destroyers, leaving behind them their helpless widows and
orphans to subsist upon the cold charity of strangers. Others
have been sent to cultivate the wilderness for their subsistence,
without having the means, and compelled through want to
throw themselves on the mercy of the American States, and the
charity of former friends, to support the life which might have
been made comfortable by the money long since due by the
British Government ; and many others with their families are
barely subsisting upon a temporary allowance from Govern-
ment, a mere pittance when compared with the sum due them."
Shortly after the publication of the pamphlet containing these
CHAP. XXXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 173
statements, the Commissioners submitted their eleventh report,
April, 1788, and Mr. Pitt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, yielded
the following month to the pressing entreaties of the claimants
to allow their grievances to be discussed in Parliament.
" Twelve years had elapsed since the property of most of them
had been alienated under the Confiscation Acts, and five since
their title to recompense had been recognized by the law under
which their claims had been presented and disposed of."
We will give an abridged account of the proceedings in
Parliament and by the Commissioners in their own words :
" The business came on in the House of Commons on the 6th
of June, 1788, which Mr. Pitt opened in a very handsome and
eloquent speech respecting the merits of the American Loyalists,
and which, he did not doubt, would meet with the unanimous
acknowledgment of the House ; and he trusted, therefore,
there would be no difference of opinion as to the principle,
though there might be as to the mode of compensation and the
distribution which he thought it his duty to propose.
" The first principle he laid down was, that however strong
their claims might be on the generosity of the nation, the com-
pensation could not be considered as a matter of right and strict
justice ;* in the mode, therefore, he had pursued, he had marked
* The principle thus laid down was neither just, nor true, nor generous.
The claimants had not asked for cJuirity, but for compensation, and that not
as a favour, but upon the principles of "right and of strict justice." The
British Ministry and Parliament alone originated and were responsible
for the policy and measures which had led to the calamities so ruinous to
the Loyalists, who now claimed compensation. The claimants had had
nothing to do with passing the Stamp Act ; with imposing duties on tea
and other articles imported into the colonies ; with making naval oflScers
collectors of customs ; with erecting courts of admiralty, and depriving the
trading colonists of trial by jury, and of rendering the officers of the
admiralty courts, and the complainants before them, the recipients of the
first confiscations imposed by such events ; with the acts to close the Port
of Boston, and supersede the chartered constitution of Massachusetts, all
of which, separately and collectively, with other like measures, roused and
united the colonists to resistance, from Maine to Georgia, and in consequence
of which a majority of the General Congress of the colonists seized the
opportunity to renounce their allegiance to the British Throne, and to declare
their separation from the mother country. And even after the character
of the contest became thus changed from one for British constitutional
rights to one for Kepublican independence, the Loyalists had nothing to do
174 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVIII.
the principle in the various quotas of compensation he should
propose to be made to the various classes of the American
Loyalists.
" He considered the three first classes of them, stated by the
Commissioners in their reports as the most meritorious, and
who were likewise the most numerous, viz. :
" 1st. Loyalists who had rendered services to Great Britain.
Number, 204.
" 2nd. Loyalists who had borne arms in the service of Great
Britain— 481.
" 3rd. Zealous and uniform Loyalists — 626.
" Total number of these three classes — 1,311.
" The number of the remaining classes were much fewer,
viz. :
" 4th. Loyal British subjects resident in Great Britain — 20.
" 5th. Who took the oath to the Americans, but afterwards
joined the British — 27.
" 6th. Who bore arms for the Americans, but afterwards
joined the British — 23.
" 7th. Ditto, losses under the Prohibitory Act — 3.
" 8th. Loyal British proprietors — 2.
" 9th. Subject or settled inliabitants of the United States
—25.
" 10th. Claims disallowed and withdrawn — 313.
" 11th. Loyal British subjects who appear to have relief by
the Treaty of Peace, but state the impossibility of procuring
it— 4.
" Mr. Pitt proposed to pay classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, whose
liquidated losses did not amount to more than £10,000 each,
the full amount of their losses ; and if they should exceed the
with the selection of British generals, or with their incapacity, their want
of tact and energy, their mistakes and rapacity, together with that of their
officers and soldiers, from all which the Loyalists grievously suffered. In
the camp, on the march, and in the field of battle, the Loyalists were always
on the alert, and performed the severest and most perilous services. No
class of men had stronger claims on the nation, upon the principles of
right and strict justice, than the Loyalist claimants before Parliament.
This was acknowledged by all the speakers on both sides, and in both
Houses of Parliament, and even by Mr. Pitt himself, and the objectionable
and offensive principle which he laid down at the outset was contravened
by the whole tenor and spirit of his speech.
CHAP. XXXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 175
sum of £10,000, to deduct the sum of ten per cent, from excess
only of £10,000, provided such losses did not exceed £35,000 ;
and if they exceeded £35,000, then fifteen per cent, from the ex-
cess of £10,000, and not above £50,000 ; and if they exceeded
£50,000, then to deduct twenty per cent, from the excess of
£10,000; and which principle, he informed the Committee,
he meant to follow in every other class.
" With regard to the 4th and 8th classes, viz., of loyal British
subjects and loyal British proprietors resident in Great Britain
during the war, he did not mean to propose any deduction from
the losses under £10,000 ; but from the losses which anTounted
from £10,000 to £50,000 he proposed a deduction of twenty
per cent, should be made ; and a further deduction from those
losses amounting to above £50,000, and a still further deduction
of seventy per cent, from those from £50,000 to £200,000 ; and
so on in proportion.
" He next considered the case of those Loyalists whose losses
principally, if not solely, arose from their loss of ofiice or pro-
fession, by which they had been deprived of their livelihood, or
means of support, both for themselves or families. These
persons were distinct from those who had been in trade or other
branches of business, or gained their livelihood by their manual
labour. Though these losses were not of so substantial a
nature as those who lost property real or personal, yet they
could not be easily reinstated in the same lucrative professions
which they had enjoyed — civil employment, in the law, in the
Church, or in physic — and therefore he thought them entitled
to a liberal compensation. But as they were not precluded
from exercising their industry and talents in this country,
he proposed that all those persons who were reported by Com-
missioners to have lost incomes not exceeding £400 per annum,
should receive pensions at the rate of £50 per cent, of such
income, and £40 per cent, for every £100 above £400 per
annum ; where the value did not exceed £1,500 per annum,
£30 per cent, for every £100 per annum exceeding £400 ; thus
the percentage would be governed by and diminish in pro-
portion to the increase of the income lost.
"Having expatiated on these various classes of claimants,
Mr. Pitt said he meant to propose that the amount of these
various sums should be issued in debentures bearing interest at
176 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [cHAP. XXXVIII.
three and a half per cent., which would be nearly equal to a
money payment, and that the whole should be paid off by
instalments.
" He began, therefore, by moving ' that provision should be
made accordingly.'
" This plan met with general approbation and applause from
all sides of the House ; not only from the friends of the Minister,
but from leaders of the Opposition, particularly from Mr. Fox
and Mr. Burke ; and Mr. Pitt congratulated the House on their
concurrence with him in the plan he laid before the Committee.
" Soon after a motion was made for continuing the Act
another year, for the purpose principally of enabling the Com-
missioners to inquire into claims of certain other persons therein
specified, who, it was stated, appeared to have been prevented
by particular circumstances from preferring their claims before ;
provided the Commissioners were satisfied, by proof made on
oath, with the reasons assigned by those persons for not having
before preferred their respective claims ; and the Act passed,
including these and other purposes.
" As the Commissioners who had gone to Nova Scotia and
Canada had by this time returned to England, and Mr. Anstey
was daily expected from the United States, there was more
than sufficient to employ the Commissioners, independent of the
Act for carrying into eflect the plan of relief and compensation
into execution.
" The Commissioners immediately, viz., in August, 1788, pro-
ceeded with the various matters referred to them.
" Colonel Dundas and Mr. Pemberton, having returned from
Nova Scotia and Canada, made a separate report of the pro-
ceedings to the Board of Treasury and the Secretaries of State ;*
but the Commissioners, before they finished their deliberations,
united the proceedings of both Boards in order to give a compre-
hensive view of the whole.
" Mr. Anstey also having returned from the United States in
September, the Commissioners took a general review of the
whole of their proceedings from the commencement of the
inquiry, and were thus enabled to supply any defects, to
* The number of claims examined by the Commissioners in Nova Scotia
and Canada was 1,272 ; the amount of ckims was £975,310 ; the losses
allowed were £336,753.
CHAP. XXXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES, 177
correct any mistakes, and to reconsider any points in which,
perhaps, too great humanity to the individuals on the one hand,
or too great anxiety to reduce claims which appeared exaggerated
on the other, might have led them into error.
" Having thus wound up the business in the spring of 1789,
they presented their twelfth and last Report on the 15th of May ;
and likewise, pursuant to the order of the House of Commons
of the 10th of June, 1789, presented a statement of them to
that House, comprising the whole of their proceedings in one
view, specifying what had been granted by Parliament and
what still remained for consideration ; but as the inquiring into
these claims was not completed, and the Minister thought proper
to give way once more to strong applications from various
persons, who had been still prevented from preferring or prose-
cuting their claims under the former Acts of Parliament, the
Commission was renewed once more, and it was not till the
spring of 1790 that the business was finally settled and adjusted
by Parliament. In the beginning of April, in consequence of
an order of the House of Commons, on the 31st of March, 1790,
the Commissioners laid before the House a statement of the
claims and losses of the American Loyalists up to the 25th
of March, 1790, with the terms already granted, and of what
remained for the consideration of Parliament.
" The general result of this was, that the number of claims
preferred in England and Nova Scotia was 3,225 —
"Of which were examined . . 3,225
"Disallowed 343 \
" Withdrawn 38 I 934
" Not prosecuted 553 )
" The amount of the claims preferred was £10,358,413.
" The amount of the claims examined was £8,216,126.
" The amount allowed in liquidation thereof amounted to
£3,033,091.
" Of which had been provided £2,096,326.
" There remained for consideration of Parliament £936,764.*
" The amount of pensions paid to 204 Loyalists, on account
* What remained for consideration, and which was afterwards granted by-
Parliament, consisted of seven Articles, and was as follows :
" 1. Additional claims liquidated since 1788, to the
amount of £224,406
VOL. 11.-12
178 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVIIL
of losses of office or profession, was £25,785 per annum, besides
annual allowances to 588 persons, chiefly widows, orphans, and
merchants, who had no means of livelihood, but had lost no
real or personal estate except debts due them,* and which had
not been gone into for reasons before given.
" As many of the Loyalists who had received pensions or
allowances are since deceased, the Lords of the Treasury, by his
Majesty's direction, have continued some part of those annual
payments to their widows.
" 2. The proprietary claims of Messrs. Pennes J500,000
" 3. Do. do. Trustees uiider tlie will of
Lord Granville, North Carolina 60,000
" 4. The proprietary claims of Kobert Lord Fairfax, pro-
prietor of Virginia 60,000
" 5. Claims of subjects, settled inhabitants of the United ■
States, many of which were cases of great merit
and peculiar hardship 32,462
" 6. Claims of persons who appeared to have relief under
the Treaty of Peace 14,000
" 7. Claims of creditors on ceded lands in Georgia 45,885
* The case of such merchants was peculiarly distressing. In the " His-
torical Review of the Commission," the Commissioners state :
" The claims for debts due from siibjects of the United States, as well
from the magnitude of their amount as the peculiar hardship and
injustice under which the claimants labour respecting them, form a subject
which appears strongly to press for the attention and interposition of
Government. The Treaty of Peace having provided that * Creditors on
either side shoxdd meet with no lawful impediment to the recovery of the
full value of their debts in sterling money,' losses of this nature have not
been considered as within the inquiry directed by the Act, because we
cannot consider any right or property as lost to the party where the Govern-
ment of the country has expressly provided and stipulated for a remedy
by a public treaty. We think it, however, incumbent upon us to represent
that the claimants uniformly state to us the insuperable difficulties they
find themselves under, as individuals, in seeking the recovery of their
debts according to the provision of the treaty, whilst themselves are the
objects of prosecution in courts of justice here for debts due to the
subjects of the United States. Under such circumstances, the situation
of this class of suiferers appears to be singularly distressing — disabled on
the one hand by the laws or practice of the several States from recovering
the debts due them, yet compellable on the other to pay all demands against
them ; and though the stipulation in the treaty in their favour has proved of
no avail to procure them the redress it holds out in one country, yet they find
themselves excluded by it from all claims to relief in the other."
CHAP. XXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 179
" Thus had the nation extended an inquiry for seven succes-
sive years into the losses of those who, from motives of loyalty
to his Majesty and attachment to the British Government, had
risked their lives and sacrificed their fortunes in support of the
constitutional dependence of the colonies on Great Britain.
" Whatever may be said of this unfortunate war, either to
account for, to justify, or to apologize for the conduct of either
country, all the world has been unanimous in applauding the
virtue and humanity of Great Britain in rewarding the services,
and in compensating, with a liberal hand, the losses of those
who suffered so much for their firm and faithful adherence to
the British Government."
We will conclude these extracts by giving the Commissioners*
account of their mode of proceeding and the reasons for it,
together with the acknowledo^ment of the accents of the claim-
ants in a formal address to the Eang :
" The principle which has directed our mode of conducting
the inquiry," say the Commissioners, " has been that of re-
quiring the very best evidence which the nature and circum-
stances of the case would admit. We have in no instance
hitherto thought fit to dispense with the personal appearance
and examination of the claimant, conceiving the inquiry would
be extremely imperfect and insecure against fraud and mis-
representation if we had not the advantage of cross-examin-
ing the party himself, as well as his witnesses ; nor have we, for
the same reason, allowed much weight to any testimony that
has not been delivered on oath before ourselves. We have in-
vestigated with great strictness the titles to real property,
wherever the necessary documents could be exhibited to us ; and
where they have not been produced we have required satisfac-
tory evidence of their loss, or of the inability of the claimant
to procure them."*
* It is certain that but a small proportioa of the American Loyalists pre-
sented claims before the Parliamentary Commissioners in England for com-
pensation for services or loss of property ; and many of those who pre-
sented claims did not prosecute them. The Commissioners give the follow-
ing explanation on this point :
" It may, perhaps, appear singular that so many claims presented, viz.,
448, have been withdrawn ; but it may be owing, in the first place, to the
circumstance of many of these claimants having recovered possession of
180 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVIII,
The Commissioners conclude their twelfth and last Report in
the following words :
" Great as is the length of time which hath been consumed in
the prosecution of this inquiry, it may without difficulty be
accounted for by a survey of the multiplicity and complicated
nature of the objects to which the Acts of Parliament extended
our scrutiny ; and when to these are added the investigation
(delegated to us by your lordships) of the numerous claims for
present relief and temporary support (which alone formed a
heavy branch of business, demanding daily attention), the
several reviews and modifications of pension lists, and the
various other extraneous matters which have incidentally de-
volved upon us, we trust we shall, on due consideration of this
extensive scene of employment, at least stand exculpated
by your lordships of inactivity and unnecessary delay. We
have felt with anxious solicitude the urgency as well as the
importance and delicate nature of the trust reposed in us, and
to this impression our exertions towards the speedy, faithful,
and honourable execution of it have been proportioned. We
cannot flatter ourselves that no errors have been committed :
but we have this consolation, that the most assiduous en-
deavours have not been wanting on our part to do justice to the
individuals and to the public. Supported by this reflection in
our retirement from this arduous and insidious employment, we
shall feel no inconsiderable satisfaction in having been instru- <
mental towards the completion of a work which will ever
reflect honour on the character of the British nation.
(Signed) "John Wilmot.
" Robert Kingston.
"John Marsh.
" Ofiice of American Claims,
" Lincoln's Inn Fields,
" May loth, 1789."
A proper sequel to this whole proceeding will be the follow-
ing Address of the Agents for the American Loyalists, presented
to the King by Sir William Pepperell, Bart., and the other
their estates, and, in the next place, to the uncertainty, at the commencement
of the inquiry, as to the nature of the Commission, and the species of loss
which was the object of it, and perhaps to the consciousness of others that
they were not able to establish the claims they had presented."
CHAP. XXXVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 181
agents, being introduced by the Lord of his Majesty's Bed-
chamber in waiting ; which address his Majesty was pleased
to receive very graciously, and they all had the honour to kiss
his Majesty's hand:
" To the King's Most Excellent Majesty.
" The Humble Address of the Agents for the American Loyalists.
" Most Gracious Sovereign, —
" Your Majesty's ever dutiful and loyal subjects, the agents
of the American Loyalists, who have heretofore been the
suppliants of your Majesty in behalf of their distressed con-
stituents, now humbly beg leave to approach your Throne, to
pour forth the ardent effusions of their grateful hearts for
your most gracious and effectual recommendation of their
claims to the just and generous consideration of Parliament.
" To have devoted their fortunes and hazarded their lives in
defence of the just rights of the Crown and the fundamental
principles of the British Constitution, were no more than their
duty demanded of them, in common with your Majesty's other
subjects ; but it was their peculiar fortune to be called to the
trial, and it is their boast and theii' glory to have been found
equal to the task.
" They have now the distinguished happiness of seeing their
fidelity approved by their Sovereign, and recompensed by
Parliament, and their fellow-subjects cheerfully contributing
to compensate them for the forfeiture their attachment to Great
Britain incited them to incur ; thereby adding dignity to their
own exalted character among the nations of the world, and
holding out to mankind the glorious principles of justice,
equity, and benevolence as the firmest basis of empire.
" We should be wanting in justice and gratitude if we did not
upon this occasion acknowledge the wisdom and liberality of
the provisions proposed by your Majesty's servants, conformable
to your Majesty's gracious intentions for the relief and accom-
modation of the several classes of sufferers to whose cases they
apply ; and we are convinced it will give comfort to your royal
heart to be assured they have been received with the most
general satisfaction.
" Professions of the unalterable attachment of the Loyalists
to your Majesty's person and government we conceive to be
182 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXVIII.
unnecessary; they have preserved it under persecution, and
gratitude cannot render it less permanent. They do not
presume to arrogate to themselves a more fervent loyalty than
their fellow-subjects possess; but distinguished as they have
been by their sufferings, they deem themselves entitled to the
foremost rank among the most zealous supporters of the British
Constitution. And while they cease not to offer up their most
earnest prayers to the Divine Being to preserve your Majesty
and your illustrious family in the peaceful enjoyment of your
just rights, and in the exercise of your royal virtues in promot-
ing the happiness of your people, they humbly beseech your
Majesty to continue to believe them at all times, and upon all
occasions, equally ready, as they have been, to devote their lives
and properties to your Majesty's service and the preservation
of the British Constitution.
" W. Pepperell, for the Massachusetts Loyalists.
" J. Wentworth, for the New Hampshire Loyalists.
" George Rowe, for the Rhode Island Loyalists.
" Ja. Delancey, foi* the New York Loyalists.
" David Ogden, for the New Jersey Loyalists.
" Joseph Galloway, for the Pennsylvannia and Delaware
Loyalists.
" Robert Alexander, for the Maryland Loyalists.
" John R. Grymer, for the Virginia Loyalists.
"Henrv Eustace McCuUoch, for the North Carolina
Loyalists.
" James Simpson, for the South Carolina Loyalists.
" William Knox, for the Georgia Loyalists.
"John Graham, late Lieutenant-Governor of Georgia,
and joint agent, for the Georgia Loyalists."
CHAP. XXXIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 183
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The Loyalists Driven from the United States to the British
Provinces.
The Loyalists, after having been stripped of their rights and
property during the war, and driven from their homes, and
hunted and killed at pleasure, were exiled from all right of
residence and citizenship at the close of the war ; and though
the Treaty of Peace engaged that Congress should recommend
the several States to compensate them for the losses of their pro-
perty, the Legislatures of the several States (with one excep-
tion) refused any compliance with this stipulation of the
national treaty ; and the Legislature of New York actually
ordered the punishment of those Loyalists who applied for
compensation. At the close of the war, therefore, instead of
witnessing, as in the case of all other civilized nations at
the termination of a civil war, however rancorous and cruel,
a general amnesty and the restoration of all parties to the
rights and property which they enjoyed at the commencement
of the strife, the Loyalists found themselves exiled and im-
poverished, and their enemies in possession of their homes and
domains. It is true about 3,000 of the Loyalists were able to
employ agents, or appear personally, to apply to the English
Government and Parliament for compensation for their losses ;
and the preceding chapter records the noble appreciation of their
character and services by British statesmen, and the liberality
of Parliament in making them compensation for their losses and
sufferings in maintaining their fidelity to the mother country.
But these 3,000 constituted not one-tenth of the Loyalists who
had suffered losses and hardships during the civil war ; upwards.
184 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIX.
of 30,000 of them were driven from the homes of their birth,
and of their forefathers, to wildernesses of everlasting snow. It
was a policy as inhuman and impolitic as that of Spain in
expelling upwards of 600,000 Moors, the most skilful and
profitable of their manufacturers and artizans ; or of France,
in compelling the escape of above 500,000 of the best workers in
the finest manufactures to other countries where they laid the
foundation of industries which have proved a source of bound-
less wealth to England at the expense of the commerce and
manufactures of France. The Democrats were then the ruling
party in most of the States ; the more moderate voice and
liberal policy of the Conservative Republicans were hushed
and fanned down by the Democratic leaders, who seemed
unable to look beyond the gratification of their resentment and
avarice ; they seemed to fear the residence and presence of men
of intelligence, ability, and energy, who might in the future
rival if not eclipse them. The maxim of the Loyalists was,
obedience to law ; heretofore they looked upon the enactments
of the States and of Congress as usurpation ; those enactments
were now recognized as law by England herself, in the ac-
knowledgment of American Independence ; and the Loyalists
would have been among the most obedient and law-abiding
citizens had they been allowed to remain in the land of their
nativity and forefathers, and would have largely added to
its social advancement, literature, and wealth, and would
undoubtedly, before now, have led to the unity of the
Anglo-Saxon race under one free and progressive government.
Historians and statesinen have long since condemned this
resentful and narrow-minded policy of the States against the
Loyalists after the close of the revolutionary war, as do now
•even American historians.*
* " Had we pursued a wise course, people of our own stock would not have
become our rivals in ship-building, in the carriage of our great staples, in
■the prosecution of the fisheries, and in the production of wheat and other
breadstufFs. Nor is this all : we should not have had the hatred, the
influence and the talents of persons of Loyalist origin to contend against
in the questions which have and may yet come up between us and England.
" Thus, as it seems to me, hiimanity to the adherents of the Crown, and
prudent regard for our own interests, required a general amnesty ; as it was,
we not only dealt harshly with many, and unjustly with some, but doomed
CHAP. XXXIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 185
The Americans inaugurated their Declaration of Indepen-
dence by enacting that all adherents to connection with the
mother country were rebels and traitors ; they followed the
recognition of Independence by England by exiling such ad-
herents from their territories. But while this wretched policy
depleted the United States of some of their best blood, it laid
the foundation of the settlement and institutions of the then
almost unknown and wilderness provinces which have since
become the wide-spread, free and prosperous Dominion of
Canada.
Until very recently, the early history of the Loyalists of
America has never been written, except to blacken their charac-
ter and misrepresent their actions ; they were represented as a
set of idle office-seekers — an imputation which has been amply
refuted by their braving the forests of northern countries, and
converting them into fruitful fields, developing trade and com-
merce, and establishing civil, religious, and educational institu-
tions that are an honour to America itself. Yet, when exiled
from their native land, they were bereft of the materials of
their true history. A living American writer truly observes :
" Of the reasons which influenced, of the hopes and fears
which agitated, and of the miseries and rewards which awaited
the Loyalists — or, as they were called in the politics of the time,
the Tories — of the American Revolution, but little is known.
The most intelligent, the best informed among us, confess the
deficiency of their knowledge. The reason is obvious. Men
who, like the Loyalists, separate themselves from their friends
and kindred, who are driven from their homes, who surrender
the hopes and expectations of life, and who become outlaws,
wanderers, and exiles — such men leave few memorials behind
them. Their papers are scattered and lost, and their very
to misery others, whose hearts and hopes had been as true as those of
Washington himself. Thus in the divisions of families which everywhere
occurred, and which formed one of the most distressing circumstances of the
conflict, there were wives and daughters, who, although bound to Loyalists
by the holiest ties, had given their sympathies to the right from the begin-
ning, and who now, in the triumph of the cause which had their prayers,
went meekly — as woman ever meets a sorrowful lot — into hopeless, inter-
minable exile." (Introductory Historical Essay to Sabine's Sketches of the
Loyalists of the American Revolution, pp. 90, 91.)
186 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIX.
names pass from human recollection. * * Of several of the
Loyalists who were high in office, of others who were men of
talents and acquirements, and of still others who were of less
consideration, I have been able, after long and extensive re-
searches, to learn scarcely more than their names, or the single
fact that for their political opinions or offences they were pro-
scribed and banished."*
The circumstances under which the Loyalists were banished
from the States and deprived of their property will largely
account for the alienation of feeling which long existed between
the Americans and Canadians, which gave intensity to the war
of 1812-15, which exists to some extent at this day, but which
is gradually subsiding, and is being gradually superseded by
feelings of mutual respect and friendship, strengthened by large
commercial and social relations, including many intermarriages.
To understand the sacrifices which the Loyalists made, and
the courage and energy they evinced, in leaving their old homes
and associations in the sunny parts of America, and in seeking
a refuge and a home in the wilds of the remaining British
Provinces, it will be necessary to notice what was then known,
and the impression then existing, as to the climate, productions,
and conditions of these pro vinces.-f-
At that time New Brunswick formed a part of Nova Scotia,
and was not organized into a separate province until 1784.
The impressions then entertained as to the climate of Nova
Scotia (including New Brunswick) may be inferred from the fol-
lowing extracts from a pamphlet published in England in 1784 :
" It has a winter of almost insufferable length and cold-
ness ; * * there are but a few inconsiderable spots fit to culti-
vate, and the land is covered with a cold spongy moss in place
of grass. * * Winter continues at least seven months in the
year ; the country is wrapt in the gloom of a perpetual fog ;
* Preface to Colonel Sabine's Biographical Sketches of the American
Loyalists, or Adherents to the British Crown, in the War of the Revolution.
t The Loyalists who were attached to military corps raised in the extreme
South were principally of the Southern States, and a large portion of them
settled in the Bahamas, Florida, and the British West Indies. " Some of the
officers who belonged to the ' Maryland Loyalists,' and some of the privates
of that corps, embarked for Nova Scotia, but were wrecked in the Bay of
Fundy, and a part perished." (Sabine.)
CHAP. XXXJX.l "and THEIK TIMES. 187
the mountains run down to the sea coast, and leave but here
and there a spot to inhabit." Some of the officers, embarking
at New York for Nova Scotia, are said to have remarked that
they were " bound for a country where there were nine months
of winter and three months of cold weather every year."
Lower Canada was known as a region of deep snow, intense
cold, and little fertility ; a colony of the French ; its capital,
Quebec, the scene of decisive battles between the English and
French under Wolfe and Montcalm, and afterwards between
Murray and Montgomery, the latter the leader of the American
revolters and invaders. Montreal was regarded as the place of
transit of the fur trade from the Hudson's Bay Company to
England.
Upper Canada was then unknown, or known only as a region
of dense wilderness and swamps, of venomous reptiles and
beasts of prey, the hunting grounds and encampments of
numerous Indian tribes, intense cold of winter, and with no
other redeeming feature except abundance of game and fish.*
The entire ignorance of the climate of Upper Canada which
prevailed at the close of the revolutionary war, may be inferred
from the facts stated in a succeeding chapter, when the British
commander of New York, being unable to transport any more
Loyalists to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, sent for a Mr.
Grass, who had been a prisoner during the French war for two
* " The western part of Canada, abandoned after the conquest as an
Indian hunting ground, or occupied at its western extremity on Lake Erie
by a few of the ancient French colonists, began now to assume importance,
and its capability of supporting a numerous population along the Great
River and the lakes became evident. Those excellent men, who, preferring
to sacrifice life and fortune rather than forego the enviable distinction of
being British subjects, saw that this vast field afforded a sure and certain mode
of safety and of honourable retreat, and accordingly, in 1783, ten thousand
(10,000) were enumerated in that portion of Canada, who, under the proud
title of United Empire Loyalists, had turned their backs for ever upon the
new-fangled republicanism and treason of the country of their birth.
" The obstacles, privations, and miseries these people had to encounter
ma)'- readily be imagined in a country where the primeval forest covered the
earth, and where the only path was the river or the lake. They ultimately
were, however, blessed with success ; and to this day the original letters
U. E., after the name of an applicant for land, ensure its grant." (Sir Richard
Bonnycastle's Canada Before 1837, Vol. I., pp. 24, 25.)
188 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIX.
or three years at Kingston, then Frontenac, to inquire of him
what sort of a country Upper Canada was, and whether people
could live there. Grass replied that he thought Upper Canada
was a good country, and that people could live there. The
British commander expressed much joy at the reply, and asked
Mr. Grass if he would undertake to conduct a colony of
Loyalists to Canada ; the vessels, provisions, etc., would be fur-
nished for that purpose. Mr. Grass asked three days to con-
sider the proposal, and at length consented to undertake the
task. It appears that five vessels were procured and fui-nished
to convey this first colony of banished refugee Loyalists to
Upper Canada ; they sailed around the coast of New Bruns-
wick and Nova Scotia, and up the St. Lawrence to Sorel, where
they arrived in October, 1783, and where they built themselves
huts or shanties and wintered; and in May, 1784, they prose-
cuted their voyage in boats, and reached their destination,
Cataraqui, afterwards Kingston, in July. The manner of their
settlement and providing for their subsistence is described in
a succeeding chapter.
Other bands of Loyalists made their way to Canada by land ;
some by the militar}^ highway to Lower Canada, Whitehall,
Lake Champlain, Ticonderoga, Plattsburg, and then turning
northward proceeded to Cornwall ; then ascending the St. Law-
rence, along the north side of which many of them settled.
This Champlain route was the common one to Lower Canada,
descending the River Richelieu from St. John's to Sorel.
But the most common land route from New York to Upper
Canada, chosen by the Loyalists at the close of the war, was
to Albany 180 miles up the Hudson river, which divides into
two branches about ten miles north of Albany. The western
branch is called the Mohawk, leading to Rome, formerly Fort
Stanwix. A branch of the Mohawk, called Wood Creek, leads
towards the Oneida lake, which was reached by a portage. From
Oneida Lake, Lake Ontario was reached by the Oswego river.
Flat-bottom boats, specially built or purchased for the purpose
by the Loyalists, were used in this journey. The portages over
which the boats had to be hauled, and all their contents carried,
are stated to be thirty miles. On reaching Oswego, some of the
Loyalists coasted along the eastern shore of Lake Ontario to
CHAP, XXXIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 189
Kingston, and thence up the Bay of Quints ; others went west-
ward, along the south shore of the lake to Niagara and Queens-
ton ; some pursued their course to the head of the lake at
Burlington ; others made their way up the Niagara river to
Queenston, conveyed their boats over the portage of ten or
twelve miles to Chippewa, thence up the river and into Lake
Erie, settling chiefly in what was called the "Long Point Country,"
now the county of Norfolk. This journey of hardship, priva-
tion, and exposure occupied from two to three months. The
parents and family of the writer of this history were from the
middle of May to the middle of July, 1799, in making this
journey in an open boat. Generally two or more families would
unite in one company, and thus assist each other in carrying
their boats and goods over the portages.
A considerable number came to Canada from New Jersey
and the neighbourhood of Philadelphia on foot through the
then wilderness of New York, carrying their little effects and
small children on pack horses, and driving their cattle, which
subsisted on herbage of the woods and valleys. Some of the
families of this class testified to the relief and kindness they
received in their extreme exigencies from the Indians.
The hardships, exposures, privations and sufferings which the
first Loyalists endured in making their way from their confis-
cated homes to Canada, were longer and more severe than any-
thing narrated of the Pilgrim and Puritan Fathers of New
England in their voyages from England to Massachusetts Bay ;
and the persecutions to which the emigration of the Puritans
from England is attributed were trifling indeed in comparison
of the persecutions, imprisonments, confiscations, and often
death, inflicted on the loyal adherents to the Crown of England
in the United States, and which drove the survivors among
them to the wilderness of Canada. The privations and hard-
ships experienced by many of these Loyalist patriots for years
after the first settlement in Canada, as testified by the papers in
the subsequent chapter, were much more severe than anything
experienced by the Pilgrim Fathers during the first years of
their settlement in Massachusetts. These latter could keep a
" Harvest Home" festival of a week, at the end of the first year
after their landing in the Bay of Massachusetts ; but it was
190 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XXXIX.
years after their arrival in Canada before the Loyalists could
command means to keep any such festival. The stern adherence
of the Puritans to their principles was quite equalled by the
stern adherence of the Loyalists to their principles, and far
excelled by their sacrifices and sufierings.
Canada has a noble parentage, the remembrance of which its
inhabitants may well cherish with respect, affection, and pride.
CHAP. XL.] AND THEIR TIMES. 191
CHAPTER XL.
Brief Sketches op some Individual Loyalists — First Settlers in
Canada and other British Provinces.
It is not possible to give biographical sketches of all the old
Loyalists, officers and soldiers. To do justice to their character
and merits would require a massive volume. Besides, the data
for such a volume are for the most part wanting. It is not the
object of this history to give a biography of the Loyalists ; that
must be done by others, if attempted at all. The Loyalists
were not writers, but workers. Almost the only history of them
has been written by their enemies, whose object was to conceal
the treatment they received, to depreciate their merits and
defame their character, for the vindication of which it is only
of late years that materials have been procured. It is the
object of this history to vindicate their character as a body, to
exhibit their principles and patriotism, and to illustrate their
treatment and sufferings.
The best, and indeed only biography of the Loyalists extant
is Sabine's " American Loyalists, or Biographical Sketches of
Adherents to the British Crown in the War of the Revolution," —
especially the first, not the second edition. The author has more
than once quoted the excellent historical essay introductory to
the sketches of this work, and from which Dr. Canniff has
enriched the pages of his valuable " History of the Settlement
of Upper Canada, with special reference to the Bay of Quints."
From these sources we will condense brief notices of some of
the early Loyalists, preliminary to the information in regard
to others furnished us in the interesting letters and papers
which follow. These notices will further illustrate the character
192 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP, XL.
and sacrifices of the Loyalist combatants — the treatment they
received and the courage they displayed.
1. Samuel Anderson, of New York, entered the service of the
Crown, and was a captain in the regiment of Sir John Johnson.
In 1783 he settled near Cornwall, Upper Canada, and received
half-pay; held several civil offices, such as those of Maj' ;trate,
Judge of the District Court, Associate Justice of King's Lench,
etc. He continued to reside on his property near Cornwall
until his decease in 1836, at the age of one hundred and one.
His property in New York was abandoned and lost.
2. Rev. John Bethune (father of the late Bishop of Toronto),
of North Carolina, was chaplain to the Loyal Militia ; was taken
prisoner at the battle of Cross Creek ; was confined in jail, first
at Halifax and finally in Philadelphia. After his release, his
continued loyalty reduced him to great distress. He was ap-
pointed to the 84th Regiment and restored to comfort. At the
peace, he settled in Upper Canada, at Williamston, near Corn-
wall, and died in 1815, at the age of sixty-five.
3. Doane, of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Of this family
there were five brothers — Moses, Joseph, Israel, Abraham, and
Mahlon. They were men of fine figure and address, elegant
horsemen, great runners and leapers, and excellent at stratagems
and escapes. Their father was respectable, and possessed a good
estate. The sons themselves, prior to the war, were men of
reputation and proposed to remain neutral ; but harassed per-
sonally, their property sold by the Whigs, because they would
not submit to the exactions of the time, they determined to
avenge themselves by a predatory warfare upon their persecu-
tors, and to live in the open air as best they could. They
became the terror of the surrounding country ; they spared the
weak, the poor, and the peaceful ; they aimed at public pro-
perty and at public men. Generally their expeditions were on
horseback. Sometimes the five went together ; at other times
separately, with accomplices. Whoever of them was appre-
hended, broke jail ; whoever of them was assailed, escaped.
In a* word, such was their course, that a reward of £300 was
offered for the head of each. Ultimately, three were slain;
Moses, after a desperate fight, was shot by his captor ; and
Abraham and Mahlon were living at Philadelphia. Joseph,
before the revolution, taught school. During the war, while
CHAP. XL.] AND THEIR TIMES. 193
on a marauding expedition, he was shot through the cheeks,
and was taken prisoner. He was committed to await his trial,
but escaped to New Jersey. A reward of $800 was offered for
his apprehension, but without success. He resumed his former
employment in New Jersey and lived there under an assumed
name for nearly a year, but finally fled to Canada. The only
mention of Israel is that " in February, 1783, he appealed to the
Council of Pennsylvania to be released on account of his own
sufierings and the destitute condition of his family, and that
his petition was dismissed."
4. Stephen Jarvis, in 1782 was a lieutenant of cavalry in
the South Carolina Koyalists ; was in several battles ; was in
New Brunswick ; after the revolution came to Upper Canada,
and died at Toronto in 1840, aged eighty-four.
5. WilliaTn Jarvis was an officer of cavalry in the Queen's
Rangers; was wounded at the siege of Yorktown. At the
Peace he settled in Upper Canada, became Secretary of the
Province, and died at York (Toronto) in 1817.
6. David Jones was captain in the royal service, and the
reputed spouse or husband of the "beautiful and good Jane
McCrea," whose cruel death in 1777, by the Indians, on her way
to join him, is so universally known and lamented. He lived
in Canada to an old age, but never married. Jane McCrea was
the daughter of the Rev. James McCrea, a Loyalist.
7. Jonathan Jones, of New York, was brother of Captain
David Jones, and assisted in the latter part of 1776 in raising a
company in Lower Canada, and joined the British garrison at
Crown Point. Later in the war he was captain under General
Frazer.
8. Captain Richard Lippincott was born in Shrewsbury, New
Jersey, on the 2nd of January, 1745. He was descended from
an old colonial family, and served during the revolution as a
captain in the New Jersey volunteers. He was married on the
4th of March, 1770, to Esther Borden, daughter of Jeremiah
and Esther Borden, of Bordentown, New Jersey. On the out-
break of the revolution he warmly espoused the side of the
Crown, and was early in the war captured and confined in
Burlington jail, from which he escaped in the year 1776, and
made his way to the British army at Staten Island. During
the remainder of the war he served with his regiment. His
VOL. II. — 13
194 THj; LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XL.
connection with the execution of Captain Joshua Huddy, of the
rebel service, attracted a great deal of attention both in Europe
and America. Captain Huddy was a partisan officer of some
repute in New Jersey, and had been concerned in the murder
of a Loyalist named Philip White, who was a relative of
Lippincott, and a resident of Shrewsbury. One Edwards of
the same neighbourhood had also been put to death about the
same time. Shortly after, Captain Huddy was captured and
taken as prisoner to New York. The " Board of Associated
Loyalists of New York " sent Captain Lippincott to Middleton
Point, or Sandy Hook, with Captain Huddy and two other
prisoners, to exchange them for prisoners held by the rebels.
He was authorized to execute Huddy in retaliation for White,
who had already been put to death. Therefore, on the 12th of
April, 1782, having exchanged the two other prisoners. Captain
Lippincott hung Huddy on a tree by the beach, under the
Middleton Heights. In 1867 the tree was still to be seen, and
tradition keeps alive in the neighbourhood the story connected
with it. Captain Lippincott, who was evidently only obeying
orders, pinned a paper on Huddy's breast with the following
inscription :
" We, the Refugees, having long with grief beheld the cruel
murders of our brethren, and finding nothing but such measures
carrying into execution, — we therefore determine not to sufiier
without taking vengeance for the numerous cruelties, and thus
begin, having made use of Captain Huddy as the first object to
present to your view, and further determine to hang man for
man while there is a refugee existing.
"Up Goes Huddy tor Philip White."
Washington, upon hearing of Huddy's death, demanded the
surrender of Captain Lippincott from the Royalist authorities,
in order that he might be put to death. This demand was
refused, and Washington then ordered the execution of one
officer of equal rank to be chosen by lot from among the
prisoners in his hands. The lot fell upon Captain Asgill, of the
Guards, who was only nineteen years of age. The British
authorities secured a respite under promise of trying Captain
Lippincott by court-martial. After a full inquiry, Lippincott
was honourably acquitted. In the meantime. Lady Asgill,
Captain Asgill's mother, appealed to the Count de Vergennes,
CHAP. XL.]
AND THEIR TIMES.
195
the French Minister, and, in response to her most pathetic
appeal, the Count was instructed by the King and Queen of
France, in their joint names, to ask of Washington the release
of Captain Asgill "as a tribute to humanity." Washington,
after a long delay, granted this request, but Asgill and Lippin-
cott were not set at liberty till the close of the war. Asgill
lived to become a general, and to succeed to his father's
baronetcy.
After the war Captain Lippincott moved to New Brunswick,
to a place called Pennfield, where he lived till the fall of 1787,
when he went to England, where he remained till the end of
1788. He was granted half pay as a captain of the British
army, and in 1793 he moved from New Brunswick to Canada,
when he was granted for his TJ. E. Loyalist services 3,000 acres
of land in the township of Vaughan, near Toronto.
He lived near Richmond Hill for many years. His only
surviving child, Esther Borden Lippincott, was married in 1806
to the late Colonel George Taylor Denison, of Belle vue, Toronto,
at whose house Captain Lippincott died in 1826, aged eighty-
one years. The family of Denisons of Toronto are all descen-
dants of Captain Lippincott through this marriage.
9. McDonald. — There were many of this name who took
part with the loyal combatants, and of whom several settled in
Canada.
Alexander McDonald was a major in a North Carolina
regiment, and was the husband of the celebrated Flora Mc-
Donald, who was so true and devoted to Prince Charles
Edward, the last of the Stuarts who sought the throne of
England, They had emigrated to North Carolina ; and when
the revolution broke out, he, with two sons, took up arms for
the Crown. Those who settled in Canada were Donald
McDonald, of New York, who served under Sir John Johnson
for seven years, and died at Wolfe Island, Upper Canada,
aged 97; and Allan McDonald, of Tryon (afterwards Mont-
gomery), New York, who was associated with Sir John Johnson
in 1776, and died at a great age, at Three Rivers, in Lower
Canada, 1822.
10. John McGill was, in 1782, an officer of infantry in the
Queen's Rangers, and at the close of the war went to New
Brunswick ; removed thence to Upper Canada, became a man
196 THE LOYALISTS OF AJtfEEICA [CHAP. XL.
of note and member of the Legislative Council, and died at
Toronto, in 1834, at the age of eighty-three.
11. Donald McGillis resided at the beginning of the revolu-
tion on the Mohawk river, New York. Embracing the royal
side in the contest, he formed one of a " determined band of
young men," who attacked a Whig post, and, in the face of a
superior force, cut down the flag-staff and tore in strips the
stars and stripes attached to it. Subsequently he joined a
grenadier company called the Royal Yorkers, and performed
efficient service throughout the war. At the peace he settled
in Canada; and entering the British .service again in 1812, was
appointed captain in the colonial corps by Sir Isaac Brock. He
<iied at River Raisin, Canada, in 1844, aged eighty years.
12. Thomas Merrit, of New York (father of the late Hon. W.
Hamilton Merrit), was in 1782 cornet of cavalry in the Queen's
Rangers. He settled in Upper Canada, and held the ofiice
of high sherifi" of the Niagara district. He died at St.
Catharines, May, 1842, at the age of eighty years.
The Bobinsoii family was one of the distinguished families
in America before, during, and after the revolution, and its
members have tilled some of the most important offices in the
provinces of Nova Scotia, New Bninswick, Lower and Upper
Canada.
13. Beverley RohinsoTi, of New York, was the son of the
Honourable John Robinson, of Virginia, who was President
of that colony on the retirement of Governor Gooch. He
removed to New York, and married Susanna, daughter of
Frederick Phillipse, Esquire, who owned an immense landed
estate on the Hudson river. By this connection Mr. Robinson
added greatly to his wealth and became very rich. WTien the
revolutionary controversy commenced, he was living on that
portion of the Phillipse estate which had been given to his wife,
and there he desired to remain in the quiet enjoyment of
country life, and in the enjoyment of his large domains.
That such was his inclination is asserted by the late President
Dwight, and is fully confirmed by circumstances and by his
descendants. He was opposed to the measures of the British
Ministry, gave up the use of imported merchandize, and clothed
himself and family in fabrics of domestic manufacture.
But he ivas opposed to the separation of the colonies from the
OHAP. XL.] AND THEIR TIMES. 197
mother country. Still he wished to take no part in the conflict
of arms. The importunity of friends overruled his own judg-
ment, and he entered the military service of the Crown. Of
the Loyal American Regiment, raised principally in New York
by himself, he was commissioned the colonel. He also com-
manded the corps called Guides and Pioneers. Of the former,
or the Loyal Americans, his son Beverley was lieutenant-colonel,
and Thomas Barclay, major. He and Washington had been
personal friends until political events produced separation
between them.
At the peace. Colonel Robinson, with a part of his family,
went to England. His name appears as a member of the first
Council of New Brunswick ; but he never took his seat at the
Board. His wife, with himself, was attainted for high treason ;
in order to secure her property to the Americans, she was
included in the Confiscation Act of New York, and the whole
of the estate derived from her father passed from the family.
The value of her interest may be estimated from the fact
that the British Government granted her and her husband the
sum of £17,000 sterling, which, though equal to S80,000, was
considered only a partial compensation.
Colonel Robinson has highly respectable descendants in New
Brunswick as well as in Canada. William Henry, who was
afterwards King William the Fourth, enjoyed Colonel Robin-
son's hospitality in New York at a later date. The Robinsons
were unquestionably immediate suff"erers from the events which
drove them into exile. But though Colonel Robinson was not
amply compensated in money by the Government for which he
sacrificed fortune, home, and his native land, yet the distinc-
tion obtained by his children and grand-children in the colonies,
though deprived of their inheritance, has not been without
other and substantial recompense, as no persons of the Loyalist
descent have been more favoured in oflicial stations and power-
ful family alliances than the heirs of the daughters of
Frederick Phillipse, Susanna Robinson, and Mary Morris (see
under the names of Colonel Ragier Morris and Colonel Thomas
Barclay).
14. Beverley Robinson (jun.) was son of Colonel Beverley
Robinson, and lieutenant-colonel in the Loyal American Regi-
ment, commanded by his father ; was a graduate of Columbia
198 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XL.
College, New York, and at the commencement of the revolu-
tionary troubles was a student of law in the office of James
Duane. His wife, Nancy, whom he married during the war,
was daughter of the Reverend Henry Barclay, D.D., rector
of Trinity Church, New York, and sister of Colonel Thomas
Barclay. At the evacuation of New York, Lieutenant-Colonel
Robinson was placed at the head of a large number of Loyalists
who embarked for Shelburne, Nova Scotia, and who laid out
that place in a very handsome manner, in the hope of its
becoming a town of business and importance. The harbour
of Shelburne is represented to be one of the best in North
America ; the population rapidly increased to about 12,000
persons, but soon as rapidly declined, being outrivalled by
Halifax — and many abandoned Shelburne for other parts of the
British provinces. Lieutenant-Colonel Robinson went to New
Brunswick, and resided near the city of St. John. His depri-
vations and suflferings for a considerable time after leaving
New York were great, but were finally relieved by the receipt of
half -pay as an officer in the service of the Crown. In New Bruns-
wick he was a member of his Majesty's Council ; and at the
period of the French revolution, and on the occurrence of the
Napoleonic war between England and France, he was entrusted
with the command of the regiment raised in that colony,
possessed great energy, and contributed much by his exertions
and influence to settle and advance the commercial emporium
of New Brunswick. In the Confiscation Act of New York,
by which his estate was taken from him, he was styled
" Beverley Robinson the younger." He died in 1816, at New
York, while on a visit to two of his sons who were residing
in that city.
15. Christopher Robinson, of Virginia, was kinsman of
Colonel Beverley Robinson ; entered William and Mary College
with his cousin Robert, escaped with him to New York, and
received a commission in the Loyal Canadian Regiment : served
at the South, and was wounded. At the peace he went first to
New Brunswick, and then to Nova Scotia, receiving a gTant of
land in each province. He soon removed to Upper Canada,
where Governor Simcoe gave him the appointment of Deputy-
Surveyor-General of Crown Lands. His salary, half pay, and
an estate of 2,000 acres, placed him in comfortable circumstances.
CHAP. XL.] AND THEIR TIMES, 199
16. Sir John Beverley Robinson was a son of Christopher
Robinson, of Virginia ; received his early legal education in
England, and was admitted to the English bar. He returned
to Upper Canada while yet young ; served with distinction in
the war of 1812, and was in several battles. He was early
appointed Attorney-General, and held a seat in the House of
Assembly for ten years ; after which he was appointed Member
and Speaker of the Legislative Council. During the insurrec-
tion of 1837, in Upper Canada, he took his musket and went
into the ranks, accompanied by his two sons. He was born in
1791 ; was appointed Attorney- General of Upper Canada in
1818 ; was raised to the Bench as Chief Justice in 1829 ; was
created Baronet in 1854 ; and died in 1863, aged seventy -two.
17. Sir Charles Frederick Phillipse Robinson, G.C.B., of New
York, was the son of Colonel Beverley Robinson ; entered the
King's service early in the Revolution, and at the peace returned
with his father to England, where he was continued in the
British army; became Lieutenant-General, and received the
honour of knighthood. He was with the Duke of Wellington,
and saw much hard service. At the storming of St. Sebastian
he was dangerously wounded. He was in the battle of Vittoria,
Nive, Orthes, and Toulouse. During the war of 1812 he came
to America, and was employed in Canada. He commanded the
British force in the attack on Plattsburg, under Prevost, and
protested against the order of his superior, when directed to
retire, because from the position of his troops he was of
opinion that his loss of men would be greater in retreat than
in advance upon the American works. After the conclusion
of hostilities he embarked at New York for England.
18. Morris Robinson, of New York, was also son of Colonel
Beverley Robinson, and was captain of the Queen's Rangers.
When that corps was disbanded at the close of the war, most
of the officers were dismissed on half pay, and settled in New
Brunswick ; but Captain Robinson, by good fortune, was con-
tinued in commission, and at the time of his decease he was
lieutenant-colonel, and assistant -barrackmaster-general in the
British army. He had three sons officers in the British army,
and two daughters, Susan and Joane ; the former became the
wife of Robert Parker, judge of the Supreme Court of New
Brunswick ; and the latter the wife of Robert T. Hagien, Esq.,.
200 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XL.
barrister-at-law, master in chancery, and formerly mayor of
the city of St. John.
19. John Robinson, of New York, likewise a son of Colonel
Beverley Robinson, was during the revolution a lieutenant of
the Loyal American Regiment, commanded by his father ; and
when the corps was disbanded at the close of the war, he settled
in New Brunswick, and received half pay. He embarked, and
successfully, in mercantile pursuits, and held distinguished
public stations, being deputy-paymaster-general of his Majesty's
forces in the Province, a member of the Council, treasurer of
New Brunswick, mayor of St. John, and president of the first
bank chartered in the colonv. He died at St. John in 1828,
aged sixty-seven.
Several other Robinsons were engaged on the royal side in
the American Revolution, but none of them so prominently con-
nected with the British provinces as those above mentioned.
20. Roger Morris, of New York, was a captain in the British
army, in the French war, and one of the aides of the ill-fated
Braddock. He married Mary, daughter of Frederick Phillipse,
Esq., and settled in New York. At the commencement of the
revolution he was a member of the Council of the colony,
and continued in office until the peace, although the Whigs
organized a government, under a written Constitution, as early
as 1777. A part of the Phillipse estate was in possession of
Colonel Morris in right of his wife, and was confiscated. In
order that the whole property should pass from the family into
the hands of the Americans, Mrs. Morris was included with her
husband in the New York Confiscation Act of attainder. It is
believed that this lady, her sister Mrs. Robinson, and Mrs. Ingles,
were the only ladies who were attainted of treason during the
revolution, and that merely to get possession of their property.
" Imagination," says Sabine, " dwells upon the attainting of a
lady whose beauty and attractions had won the admiration of
Washington.* Humanity is shocked that a woman was
* An interesting incident occurted in the early life of Mrs. Morris — no
other than that Washington desired to become her suitor — a fact which rests
on the highest authority. In Sparks' Life of Washington there is the fol-
lowing passage : "While in New York, in 1756, Washington was lodged
and kindly entertained at the house of Mr. Beverley Robinson, between
whom and himself an intimacy of friendship subsisted, which indeed, con-
CHAP. XL.] AND THEIR TIMES. 201
attainted of treason for no crime but that of clinging to the
fortunes of the husband whom she had vowed on the altar of
religion never to desert."
But it appeared in due time that the Confiscation Act did
not affect the rights of Mrs. Morris's children, who were not
named in, and therefore not disqualified by the Act of Con-
fiscation. In 1787, the Attorney-General of England examined
the case and gave the opinion that the reversionary interest (or
property of the children at the decease of the parents) was not
included in their attainder, and was recoverable under the
principles of law and of right. In the year 1809, their son,
Captain Henry Gage Morris, of the Royal Navy, in behalf of
himself and his two sisters, sold his reversionary interest to
John Jacob Astor, Esquire, of New York, for the sum of
£20,000 sterling. In 1828, Mr. Astor made a compromise with
the State of New York, by which he received for the rights
thus purchased by him (with or without associates) the large
amount of $500,000. The terms of the arrangement required
that he should execute a deed of conveyance in fee simple, with
warranty against the claims of the Morrises, husband and
wife, their heirs, and all persons claiming under them ; and
that he should obtain the judgment of the Supreme Court
of the United States, affirming the validity and perfectibility
of his title. These conditions were complied with, and the
purchasers of the confiscated lands were thus quieted in their
titles derived from the sales of the Commissioners of Con-
fiscated Property.
tinued without change till severed by their opposite fortunes twenty years
afterwards in the revolution. It happened that Miss Mary Phillipse, a sister
of Mrs. Robinson, and a young lady of rare accomplishments, was an inmate
of the family. The charms of the lady made a deep impression upon the
heart of the Virginia colonel. He went to Boston, returned, and was again
welcomed to the hospitalitj^ of Mr. Eobinson. He lingered there till duty
called him away ; but he was careful to entrust his secret to a confidential
friend, whose letters kept him informed of every important event. In a few
months intelligence came that there was a rival in the field, and that con-
sequences could not be answered for if he delayed to renew his visits to
New York. Whether time, the bustle of the camp, or the scenes of war,
had moderated his admiration, or whether he despaired of success, is not
known. He never saw the lady again, till she was married to that same
rival, Captain Morris, his former associate in arms, and one of Braddock's
aide-de-camps."
202 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XL.
21. Allan McNah was a lieutenant of cavalry in the Queen's
Rangers, under Colonel Simcoe. During the war he received
thirteen wounds. He accompanied his commander to Upper
Canada, then a dense unpeopled wilderness. He was appointed
Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada,
and held the office for many years. He was father of the late
Sir Allan McNab, who was born at Niagara, in 1798, of Scotch
extraction, whose grandfather. Major Robert McNab, of the
42nd Regiment, or Black Watch, was Royal Forester in Scot-
land, and resided on a small property called Dundurn, at the
head of Loch Earn. Sir Allan McNab, though very young,
distinguished himself in the war of 1812. In the insurrection
of 1837 he was appointed to the command of the militia,
dispersed the rebels, and cut out and burnt the rebel steamer
Caroline, at Black Rock, for which he was knighted. He was
Speaker of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada before
the union of the two Canadas, and was afterwards Speaker
of the Legislative Council of United Canada.
22. Ltike Carscallan (resident of Bay of Quint^) was an Irish-
man by birth, and had served in the British army; he had
retired and emigrated to the American colonies prior to the
revolution. He desired to remain neutral and take no part in
the contest. The rebels, however, said to him, that inasmuch
as he was acquainted with military tactics, he must join them
or be regarded as a King's man. His reply was that he had
fought for the King, and he would do it again, consequently an
order was issued to arrest him ; but when they came to take
him, he had secreted himself. The escape was a hurried one,
and all his possessions were at the mercy of the rebels — land
to the amount of 12,000 acres. They, disappointed at not catch-
ing him, took his young and tender son, and threatened to hang
him if he would not reveal his father's place of concealment.
The brave little fellow replied, " Hang away ! ' and the cruel
men, under the name of liberty, carried out their threat, and
three times was he suspended until he was almost dead, yet he
would not tell ; and then, when taken down, one of the monsters
actually kicked him." (CannifF.)
23. John Diamond was born in Albany, with several
brothers. An elder brother was drafted, but he tried to escape
a service so repugnant to his fellings ; was concealed for some
CHAP. XL,] AND THEIR TIMES. 203
time, and upon a sick bed. The visits of the doctor led to
suspicion, and the house was visited by rebels. Although
he had been placed in a bed so arranged that it was thought his
presence would not be detected, his breathing betrayed him.
They at once required his father to give a bond for $1,200 that
his son should not be removed while sick. He got well, and
some time after again sought to escape, but was caught, and
handcuffed to another. Being removed from one place to
another, the two prisoners managed to knock their guards on
the head, and ran for life through the woods, chained together.
One would sometimes run on one side of a sapling, and the
other on the opposite side. At night they managed to rub their
handcuffs off, and finally escaped to Canada. Of the other
brothers, two were carried off by the rebels and were never
more heard of ; John was taken to the rebel army when old
enough to do service, but he also escaped to Canada, and enlisted
in Rogers' Battalion, in which he served until the end of the
war, when he settled with the company at Fredericksburg.
He married Miss Loyst, a native of Philadelphia, whose ances-
tors were German. She acted no inferior part, for a woman,
during the exciting times of the revolution. They were
married in Lower Canada. They spent their first summer in
Upper Canada in clearing a little spot of land, and in the fall
got a little grain in the ground. They slept during the summer
under a tree, but erected a small hut before winter set in.
24. Ephraim Tisdale, of Freetown, Massachusetts. In 1775,
he fled from home, and went to New York. During the war,
while on a voyage to St. Augustine, Florida, he abandoned his
vessel at sea to avoid capture, and gained the shore in safety.
Though nearly destitute of money, he accomplished an overland
journey to New York, a distance, by the route which he travelled,
of fifteen hundred miles. In 1788 he embarked at New York
for New Brunswick, in the ship Bi'otliers, Captain Walker ; and
on the passage his wife gave birth to a son, who was named for
the master of the ship. Mr. Tisdale held civil and military
ofiices in New Brunswick. He removed to Upper Canada in
1808, settled in the Township of Charlotte ville, near Vittoria,
and died in 1816. He left eight sons and four daughters.
Walker Tisdale, Esq., of St. John (the son above referred to),
was in Canada in 1845, when the descendants of his father
204 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XL.
there were 169, of whom he saw 163. The Tisdales were active
on the side of the Crown in the insurrection of 1837. The
whole family have always been distinguished for loyalty.
25. Lemuel Wilmot, of Long Island, New York., entered the
King's service as an officer, and at the peace was captain in the
Loyal American Regiment. In 1783 he settled on the River
St. John, New Brunswick, near Fredericton, where he con-
tinued to reside until his death, which took place in 1814. Five
sons survived him. The Honourable Lemuel A. Wilmot, the
son of his younger son William, was a member of the Legis-
lative Assembly, and leader of the Liberal party; became
Attorney-General, and afterwards Chief Justice, and ultimately
Lieutenant-Governor of the province. He had for many years
been superintendent of the Sunday-school, and leader of the
choir in the (Methodist) Church to which he belonged, and
continued to discharge the duties of both offices during the five
years that he was Lieutenant-Governor, and until his death,
which occurred suddenly in May, 1878.
I have not space to extend these notices of individual com-
batants in the American Revolution, though I might add scores
to the number of those I have already noticed, equally loyal
and courageous, and equal in their energy, sacrifices and suffer-
ings in fleeing to Canada from American Republican persecu-
tion, far beyond anything endured by the Pilgrim and Puritan
Fathers of New England, to whose enterprise, energy, and
privations I have done ample justice in the first volume of this
history.
The Loyalists fled to Canada, and settled chiefly in Lower
Canada, on the northern banks of the St. Lawrence, between
Montreal and Kingston, on the Bay of Quintd, Prince Edward,
the frontiers of the Niagara district, and the northern shores
of Lake Erie. In the following chapter I will present an
epitome of the immigration of the first Loyalists to the Bay
of Quints, to the Niagara frontier, and to the northern shores
of Lake Erie, especially of what was called the " Long Point "
country, their modes of struggling their way thither, the priva-
tions and labours of their early settlement. I will here add a
few passages from Dr. Cannifl's Settlement of Upper Canada,
with Special Reference to Bay Quinte, in regard to the Loyal-
CHAP. XL.] AND THEIR TIMES, 205
ists fleeing into Lower Canada, and making their way up the
St. Lawrence to Kingston and Bay Quinte.
" The batteaux," says the late Sheriff Sherman, of Brock-
ville, " by which the refugees emigrated were principally built
at Lachine, nine miles from Montreal. They were calculated to
carry four or five families, with almost two tons weight.
Twelve boats constituted a brigade, and each brigade had a con-
ductor, with five men in each, one of whom steered. The duty
of the conductor was to give directions for the safe manage-
ment of the boats, to keep them together, and when they came
to a rapid they left a portion of the boats in charge of one man.
The boats ascending were doubly mamied, and drawn by a rope
fastened at the bow of the boat, having four men in the boat
with setting poles ; thus the men walked along the side of the
river, sometimes in the water or on the edge of the bank, as
circumstances occurred. Having reached the head of the rapids
the boats were left with a man, and the other men went back
for the other boats ; " and so they continued until the rapids
were mounted, Lachine was the starting place — a place of
some twenty dwellings.
It was by these batteaux that the Loyalist refugee officers
and their families, as well as the soldiers and their families,
passed from the shores of Lake Champlain, from Sorel and St.
Lawrence, where they had temporarily lived, to Upper Canada.
It was also by these or the Schenectady or Durham boat that
the pioneer Loyalists made their way from Oswego.
" Thus it is seen that to gain the northern shore of the St.
Lawrence and Lake Ontario was a task of no easy nature, and
the steps by which the Loyalists came were taken literally inch
by inch, and were attended by hard and venturesome labour.
Records are not wanting of the severe hardships endured by
families on their way to their wooded lands. Supplied with
limited comforts, perhaps only the actual necessaries of life,
they advanced slowly by day along dangerous rapids, and at
night rested under the blue sky. But our Loyalist forefathers
and mothers were made of stern stuff, and all was borne with
noble heroism.
" This toilsome mode of travelling continued for many a
year. John Ferguson, writing in 1788 from Fredericksburg,
Bay Quints, to a friend in Lachine, Lower Canada, says of his
206 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XL.
journey: 'After a most tedious and fatiguing journey I
arrived here, nineteen days on the way, sometimes for whole
days up to the waist in water or mire.' But the average time
required to ascend the rapids was from ten to twelve days, and
three or four to descend.
" With the later coming loyal refugees was introduced
another kind of flat -bottomed boat. It was generally small,
rigged with an ungainly sail; and usually built in the town
of Schenectady ; hence its name. Schenectady is a German
word, and means pine barren. Families about to come to
Canada would build one or more of these boats to meet their
requirements.
"The Loyalists not only came in summer, by batteaux or
the Schenectady boat, but likewise in winter. They generally
followed, as near as possible, some one of the routes taken in
summer. To undertake to traverse a wilderness with no road,
and guided only by rivers and creeks, or blazed trees, was no
common thing. Several families would sometimes join together
to form a train of sleighs. They would carry with them their
bedding, clothes, and the necessary provisions. We have
received interesting accounts of winter journeyings from Albany
along the Hudson, across to the Black River country, and to the
St. Lawrence. Sometimes the train would follow the military
road, along by Champlain, St. George, as far as Plattsburg, and
then turn north to the St. Lawrence, by what was then called
the Willsbury wilderness, and ' Chataquee ' woods. At the
beginning of the present century there was but one tavern
through all that vast forest, and that of the poorest character.
Indeed, it is said that while provision might be procured for
the horses, none could be had for man. Those who thus entered
Canada in winter found it necessary to stay at Cornwall until
spring. Two or more of the men would foot it along the St.
Lawrence to the Bay Quints, and at the opening of navigation,
having borrowed a batteau, descend to Cornwall for the women,
children, and articles brought with them. While the families
and sleighs were transported in the batteaux, the horses were
taken along the shore by the larger boys, if such there were
among them. The French train was occasionally employed in
these winter journeys. It consisted of a long rude sleigh, with
CHAP. XL.] AND THEIR TIMES. 207
several horses driven tandem style ; this allowed the passage
among the trees to be made more easily.
" Travellers from Montreal to the west would come by a
batteau, or Durham boat, to Kingston. Those who had
business further west, says Finkle, ' were conveyed to Henry
Finkle's, in Ernest Town, where they commonly stopped a few
days. Thence they made their journey on horseback. A
white man conducted them to the River Trent, where resided
Colonel Bleecker, who was at the head and had control of all
Mississauga Indians, and commanded the entire country to
Toronto. At this place the traveller was furnished with a
fresh horse, and an Indian guide to conduct him through an
unsettled country, the road being little better than a common
Indian path, with all its windings. The road continued in this
state until about the year 1798. Sometimes the traveller con-
tinued his journey around the head of Lake Ontario, on horse-
back, to Queenston, where resided Judge Hamilton."
208 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
CHAPTER XLI.
First Settlement of Loyalists in the British Provinces, Especially
Upper Canada — Their Adventures and Hardships, as Written
BY Themselves or their Descendants.
In 1861 I addressed a printed circular to the United
Empire Loyalists and their descendants in the British Pro-
vinces of North America, stating the design and scope of
the history I proposed to write respecting them, in compli-
ance with a call which had been made upon me by the press
and members of all parties, and requesting the surviving
Loyalists and their descendants to communicate to me, at my
expense, any letters or papers they might possess which would
throw light upon the early history of the fathers and founders
of our country.
This chapter contains the letters and papers which I received
in answer to my circular. These letters and papers, with repe-
titions of some incidents, contain, in a variety of style, state-
ments and narratives of a remarkable character, and of intense
interest, and introduce the reader to the inner life and priva-
tions of the bold, self-denying, and energetic pioneers of Canada
and of other British provinces.
First SettleTnent of the First Company of Loyalists, after the
dose of the Revolutionary War.
Letter from the Rev. Dr. Richardson, late Bishop of the
Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada :
" To the Rev. Dr. Ryerson.
" Dear Sir, —
" The following is the narrative of which I spoke to you,
relative to the early settlement of Upper Canada, as re-
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 209
lated to me by the late Mr. John Grass, of the Township of
Kingston, some years since, and which you requested might be
furnished for insertion in your forthcoming history of our
countty. I give it to you as near as may be in Mr. Grass's own
words. The old gentleman, his father, I knew well when I was
a boy ; his residence was next to my father s for several years in
Kingston. He was a genuine sample of an honest, plain, loyal
German. The narrator was about eleven years old at the time
he migrated with his father and the company of Loyalists
from New York to ' Frontenac,' and therefore had a distinct
recollection of all the incidents he relates. Being seated in his
parlour one evening, while partaking of his hospitality, the
conversation naturally turned on events connected with the
first settlement of the township of Kingston and its early
inhabitants, most of whom had descended to their graves ; Mr.
Grass was led to state as follows :
" My father had been a prisoner among the French at
Frontenac (now Kingston), in the old French war, and at
the commencement of the American revolution he resided
in a farm on the borders of the North River, about thirty
miles above New York. Being solicited by General Hei'kimer to
take a captain's commission in the American service, he replied,
sternly and promptly, that he had sworn allegiance to one
King, meaning George the Third, and could not violate his
oath, or serve against him.
" For this he was obliged to fly from his home and take refuge
within New York, under British protection. His family had
soon to follow him, being driven from their home, which by
the enemy was dilapidated and broken up. They continued
in that city till the close of the war, living on their own re-
sources as best they could. On the return of peace, the
Americans having gained their independence, there was no
longer any home there for the fugitive Loyalists, of which the
city was full ; and the British Governor was much at a loss for
a place to settle them. Many had retreated to Nova Scotia or
New Brunswick ; but this was a desperate resort, and their
immense numbers made it difficult to find a home for them all,
even there. In the meantime, the Governor, in his perplexity,
having heard that my father had been a prisoner among the
French at Frontenac, sent for him and said : ' Mr. Grass, I
VOL. n. — 14
210 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
understand you have been at Frontenac, in Canada. Pray
tell me what sort of a country is it ? Can people live there ?
What think you ? ' My father replied : ' Yes, your Excellency,
I vp-as there a prisoner of war, and from what I saw I think
it a fine country, and that people might live there very well.'
' Oh ! Mr. Grass,' exclaims the Governor, ' how glad I am to
hear that, for the sake of these poor Loyalists. As they cannot
all go to Nova Scotia, and I am at a loss how to provide for
them, will you, Mr. Grass, undertake to lead thither as many
as may choose to accompany you ? If so, I will furnish a con-
veyance by Quebec, and rations for you all till such time as
you may be able to provide for yourselves.' My father re-
quested his Excellency to allow him three days to make up his
mind. This was granted, and accordingly, at the expiration of
the three days, my father went to the Governor and said he
would undertake it. Notices were then posted up through the
city, calling for all that would go to Frontenac to enrol their
names with Mr. Grass ; so in a short time the company of men,
women, and children was completed, a ship provided and fur-
nished, and off they started for the unknown and far distant
region, leaving the homes and friends of their youth, with all
their endearing recollections, behind them — the fruits of all their
former toil and suffering — a sacrifice to their loyalty. The
first season they got no further than Sorel, in Lower Canada,
where they were obliged to erect log huts for the winter. Next
spring they took boats, and proceeding up the St. Lawrence, at
length reached Frontenac, and pitched their tents on Indian
Point, where the marine docks of Kingston now stand. Here
they awaited the surveying of the lands, which was not accom-
plished so as to be ready for location before July. In the
meantime several other companies had arrived by different
routes under their respective leaders, who were all awaiting
the completing of the surveys. The Governor, also, who by
this time had himself come to Quebec, paid them a visit, and
riding a few miles along the lake shore on a fine day, exclaimed
to my father: 'Why, Mr. Grass, you have indeed got a fine
country ! I am really glad to find it so.' While the several
companies were together waiting for the survey, some would
say to my father : ' The Governor will not give you the first
choice of the townships, but will prefer Sir John Johnson and
CHAP, XLl.] AND THEIR TIMES. 211
his company, because he is a great man.' But my father replied
that he did not believe that, for if the Govei-nor should do so
he should feel himself injured and would leave the country, as
he was the first man to mention it to the Governor in New
York, and to proceed hither with his company for settlement.
" At length the time came, in July, for the townships to be
given out. The Governor came, and having assembled the
companies before him, called for Mr. Grass, and said : ' Now,
you were the first person to mention this fine country, and have
been here formerly as a prisoner of war. You must have the
first choice. The townships are numbered first, second, third,
fourth, and fifth. Which do you choose ?' My father says :
' The first township (Kingston).' Then the Governor says to
Sir John Johnson, ' Which do you choose for your company ?'
He replies, ' The second township (Ernest Town).' To Colonel
Rogers, ' Which do you choose ?' He says, ' The third township
(Fredericksburgh).' To Major Vanalstine, 'Which do you
choose?' He replies, 'The fourth township (Adolphustown).'
Then Colonel McDonell, with his company, got the fifth town-
ship (Marysburgh). So after this manner the first settlement
of Loyalists in Canada was made.
"But before leaving, the Governor very considerately re-
marked to my father, ' Now, Mr. Grass, it is too late in the
season to put in any crops.' What can you do for food ? My
father replied, ' If they were furnished with turnip seed, they
might raise some turnips.' 'Very well,' said the Governor, 'that
you shall have. Accordingly from Montreal he sent some seed,
and each man taking a handful thereof, they cleared a spot of
ground in the centre of where the town of Kingston now stands,
and raised a fine crop of turnips, which served for food the
ensuing winter, with the Government rations.
" The above is at your service.
" With much respect,
"Jas. Richardson.
"Clover Hill, Toronto, 1st December, 1859."
Transmitted to the Author by a gentleman in Nova Scotia,
taken from the " Political Magazine," published in London 1783 :
"When the loyal refugees from the Northern provinces
were informed of the resolution of the House of Commons
212 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI,
against offensive war with the rebels, they instantly saw there
were no hopes left them of regaining their ancient settlements,
or of settling down again in their native country.
" Those of them, therefore, who had been forward in taking
up arms, and in fighting the battles of the mother country,
finding themselves deserted, began to look out for a place of
refuge, and Nova Scotia being the nearest place to their old
plantations, they determined on settling in that province.
Accordingly, to the number of 500 embarked for Amiapolis
Royal ; they had arms and ammunition, and one year's provisions,
and were put under the care and convoy of his Majesty's ship
the Amphitrite, of 24 guns, Captain Robert Briggs. This
officer behaved to them with great attention, humanity, and
generosity, and saw them safely landed and settled in the
barracks at Annapolis, which the Loyalists soon repaired.
There was plenty of wild fowl in the country, and at that time,
which was last fall, a goose sold for two shillings, and a turkey
for two shillings and sixpence. The captain was at £200
expense out of his own pocket in order to render the passage
and arrival of the unfortunate Loyalists in some degree com-
fortable to them. Before Captain Briggs sailed from Anna-
polis, the grateful Loyalists waited on him with the following
address :
" To Robert Briggs, Esquire, Commander of His Majesty's SJdp
' Amphitrite.'
" The loyal refugees who have emigrated from New York, to
settle in Nova Scotia, beg your acceptance of their warmest
thanks for the kind and unremitted attention you have paid
to their preservation and safe conduct at all times during their
passage.
" Driven from their respective dwellings for their loyalty to
our King, after enduring innumerable hardships, and seeking
a settlement in a land unknown to us, our distresses were
sensibly relieved during an uncomfortable passage by your
humanity, ever attentive to our preservation.
" Be pleased to accept of our most grateful acknowledgments,
so justly due to you and the officers under your command, and
be assured we shall remember your kindness with the most
grateful sensibility.
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 213
" We are, with the warmest wishes for your health, happiness,
and a prosperous voyage,
" With the greatest respect,
" Your most obedient humble servants,
" In behalf of the refugees,
" Amos Botsford,
" Th. Ward,
"Fred. Hansir,
" Sam. Cummins,
"Elijah Williams.*
"Annapolis Royal, the 20th of October, 1782."
Letter with Enclosure from the Hon. R. Hodgson, Chief
Justice of Prince Edward Island.
" Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, 12th June, 18G1.
" Sir,—
" I recently perused, in a newspaper published in Halifax,
Nova Scotia, called the ' British Colonist,' a statement to the pvir-
port that you contemplate publishing a history of ' The British
United Empire Loyalists of America,' and have issued a
circular to the descendants of the Loyalists, asking for informa-
tion relating to the lives and adventures of their forefathers.
" I have not seen your circular, and possibly the whole thing
may be a mere newspaper fabrication ; but it is stated so cir-
cumstantially as to carry with it an air of truth, and I have
been induced to copy a brief memoir of my maternal grand-
father, Lieut.-Colonel Joseph Robinson, in his own handwriting,
now in my possession, and to enclose it to you herewith, to be
made use of as you think fit in your intended publication.
The memoir would appear, from a statement contained in it, to
be written in obedience to some order from the then Secretary
at War, possibly calling upon the Loyalists in receipt of half-
pay from the British Government for a record of their services,
to meet parliamentary enquiry ; it is marked on the back of the
draft, in Colonel Robinson's handwriting, as ' transmitted.' He
died in this Island (formerly St. John's Island, now Prince
Edward Island) in 1808 or 1809. Colonel Robinson was a native
of Virginia, and emigrated from somewhere about James River,
* This must be the grandfather of General W. Fenwick Williams, of Kara.
214 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
in that province, to South Carolina, where he resided at the
commencement of the revolution. After a reward had been
offered for his life, as stated in his memorial, and he had been
compelled to abscond, a party of rebels visited his plantation
and burned to the ground his dwelling-house and every build-
ing upon it, scarcely giving time to my grandmother (as she has
often told me) to drag out of the house her two female children
in time to save their lives. My grandmother was a woman of
heroic spirit, and she, accompanied by a single faithful negro
slave, made her way on horseback, in an overland journey of
several hundred miles, to East Florida, where she joined her
husband. In this journey she carried one of her children before
her on the same horse, and the negro man carried the other in
the same way on the horse he rode.
" At the termination of the contest, my grandfather's property,
a large and valuable one, was confiscated by the victors, and he
embarked with his family for the island of Jamaica, was
unfortunately shipwrecked by the way, and lost every particle
of property he had left, he, his wife and children, with difficulty
escaping drowning. After a short residence in that island
he emigrated to St. John's, in the Province of New Brunswick,
and ultimately came to this island.
" He was a member of the House of Assembly of this
colony, and its Speaker afterward ; all Assistant-Justice of
the Supreme Court, and member of the Executive Council,
such Council at that titoe also exercising legislative functions.
These last-named offices of Judge and member of Council he
held up to his decease.
" I was much too young at his death to be enabled to say any-
thing of my personal knowledge of him ; but from his papers
which I have perused, I am warranted in saying that he was a
man of a refined mind, an excellent classical scholar, with a
great taste for astronomy, and possessing no ordinary talent in
that science, which seems to have amused and occupied his mind
in his latter years. The only reward he received was the half-
pay of a lieutenant-colonel (his Judgeship was an honorary
one, having no salary or emolument) ; this he enjoyfed up to the
period of his decease.
" I have somewhat hurriedly put together these observations.
You may rely upon the truth of the facts stated, and they are
CHAP. XLI.l AND THEIR TIMES. 215
at your service if coming within the scope and meaning of
your intended history. At the same time, if the thing be a news-
paper hoax, I must beg you to excuse the liberty I have taken
in addressing you, and please burn this and the copy of the
memoir.
" 1 have the honour to be. Sir,
" Your obedient servant,
" R. Hodgson,
" Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island."
Report of Joseph Robinson, Lieutenant- Colonel of the late
Regimient of South Carolina Royalists, now residing in the
Island of St. John, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
"To the Right Honourable William Wyndham, Secretary at
War,
" At the commencement of the American rebellion, I was an
inhabitant of the Province of South Carolina, and major of a
regiment of the King's Militia in Cambden District.
" The insurgents formed a camp in Ninety-six district, and
were recruiting men, declaring that as soon as they had forces
sufficient for their purpose they would burn and destroy the
houses and property of all persons who refused to join them
in opposing the King and the authority of Great Britain.
" I then waited upon Lord William Campbell, the Governor
of the Province, and received written orders from his lordship
to levy forces and march against the rebels, in consequence of
which I advanced with about 2,000 men, and found them
fortified at Ninety-six Court-house. We defeated them and
destroyed their fortifications.
" But in the meantime the violence of the insurgents obliged
Lord William Campbell to depart from his Province, and our
small army of Royal Volunteers was left without further orders,
money, or military stores ; wherefore, with much reluctance, I
was under the necessity of desiring the men to return to their
respective habitations, and by all means not to suffer any false
pretences of the rebel party to deceive them, or to efface their
principles of loyalty, until we should enjoy a more favourable
opportunity.
" A reward being then offered for my life, personal safety
induced me to retire to the Cherokee Indian nation, after-
216 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLL
wards to the Creek Indians, and, passing through many dangers
and suffering various hardships, at length arrived at Saint
Augustine, in the Province of East Florida, in the year 1777.
Soon afterwards, a party of about 300 men, being some of
those I formerly commanded in South Carolina, joined me there.
" I formed the regiment, which was styled the South Carolina
Royalists, of which General Prevost appointed me lieutenant-
colonel, and soon after I received my commission from Sir
Henry Clinton, the Commander-in-Chief.
" The said regiment acted in East Florida, Georgia, and South
Carolina, in the course of which service I was in several
engagements against the enemy — viz., at the Alligator Bridge, in
East Florida ; at Doctor Brimstone's Plantation, in Georgia ; at
New Port Meeting-house, in Georgia ; at New Port Bridge, in
Georgia ; at Stone Ferry, in South Carolina ; and afterwards at
the reduction of Sunbury Fort, in the Province of Georgia,
and the fortifications of Charlestown, in South Carolina. The
order from the office of the Secretary at War was not seen or
known by me until the 24th of April, 1797; and that I am
now fifty-five years of age.
(Signed) " Joseph Robinson,
" Lieut-Colonel of the late South Carolina Royalist Regiment.
" Charlottetown, Island of St. John,
" April 26th, 1797.
" Half-pay commenced 7th November, 1783."
Letter from Colonel John C. Clark, respecting Ms Fathers
Sufferings in the Revolutionary War, and Settlement in
the Midland District.
" Ernest Town, July 9th, 1861.
" Rev. Egerton Ryerson, D.D.
" Reverend Sir, —
" Having seen your circular, I write to inform you of my late
father's connection with the war of the revolution in the
then British colonies. M3' father, Robert Clark, Esq., late of
the township of Ernest Town, in the county of Addington, de-
ceased, was born March 16th, 1744, on Quaker Hill, in Dutchess
county, and Province of New York. He learned the trade of
carpenter and millwright, and was the owner of two farms.
When the war commenced, his loyal proclivities made it danger-
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES, 217
ous for him to remain at home, and he joined the British stan-
dard as a volunteer in 1776. He had a few opportunities of
visiting his family privately, who consisted then of a wife
and two children (boys) ; another son was born during his
absence, who was called Robert (after his father), on which
occasion the nurse — being a violent Tory — whispered the secret
to some of the rebels' wives in the vicinity, that Robert Clark
was at home, well knowing the secret would be divulged ; and
for several days and nights after ' there were liers-in-wait '
about the house to capture the Tory when he made his exit.
At length the said nurse told them they had been hoaxed.
" I have a powder-horn now in my possession, which my
father owned in the time of the war, with his name cut on it,
with the date ' Fort Edward, November 4th, 1776.' His family
were driven from their home and his lands confiscated. Being
with General Burgoyne's army on the 16th of October, 1777,
the day previous to the general's surrender of his army to
Generals Gates and Arnold, Burgoyne mustered the provincial
volunteers, and told them that he was obliged to surrender
his army ; that they must leave the camp that night, and, if
possible, avoid the army, and try to find their way to Canada.
" They left accordingly, and after some weeks of great suffer-
ing and privation, ray father reached Canada. He subsequently
served two years in his Majesty's provincial regiment called
' Loyal Rangers,' commanded by Major Edward Jessup, and was
in Captain Jonathan Jones' company, and was discharged the
24th of December, 1783.
" In 1782-83 he was employed by Government to erect the
Kingston Mills (then Cataraqui), preparatory to the settlement
of the Loyalists in this section of the Province of Quebec.
While there employed, his wife and three children arrived in
Canada, in the autumn of 1783 ; they wintered at Sorel, where
they all were afflicted with the small-pox, and being entirely
among strangers, most of whom spoke a language not under-
stood by them, they were compelled to endure more than the
usual amount of suffering incident to that disease ; the husband
being at a distance, and in the employ of Government, could
not leave to administer to their necessit}^
" In 1784 his family joined him at the Mills, after immense
218 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
suffering, having been separated by the vicissitudes of war for
the term of seven years.
" In 1785 he removed with his family to lot No. 34, in the
1st concession of Ernest Town (where he had three children
born, and of the six I am the only survivor), in which year he
was again employed by Government to build the Napanee
Mills.
" He was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the (then)
district of Mecklenburg in July, 1788, and subsequently' an
officer in the militia ; he joined the first Methodist class formed
in Ernest Town by the Rev. William Losee, in 1791, and re-
mained a consistent member during his life. He died the l7th
December, 1823.
" If you can glean anything from the above sketch to assist
you in your new work, I shall be much gratified.
" I have the honour to be, Rev. Sir,
" Your obedient servant,
"John C. Clark."
Adventures and Sufferings of Captain William Hutchison, and
his Settlement in Walsingham, County of Norfolk ; commu-
nicated by his grandson, J. B. Hutchison, Esquire.
" In the beginning of the wars of 1776, William Hutchison
(my grandfather) was urged to join the rebel army (he living
at that time in New Jersey) ; but he boldly declared, death
before dishonour. After being harassed about for some time,
and leaving a wife and eight children to the mercy of their
enemies, he with a number of others tried to make their way
to the British army, and were followed by a large force of the
enemy ; but when they found themselves so greatly out-
numbered (being about ten to one), they tried to make their
escape to an old barn ; but every one of the unfortunate men
was caught and hanged but himself. They did not succeed in
finding him, he hiding among the bushes. While he lay hidden
among some elder bushes, one of the enemy pulled up the bush
where he lay, saying ' this would be a d — d good place for a
to hide,' but the shadow falling on him completely hid him from
sight. His captain, James J. Lett, was among the unhappy
victims, grandfather being lieutenant under him at the time.
His comrades being all killed, he tried to escape from his covert,
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 219
but they had stationed sentries all around ; he could hear them
swearing vengeance on him if they could find him. It being
bright moonlight, he could see quite a long distance. He crawled
along on his hands and knees across a field, and got into the
middle of the road ; when the sentries, one on either side of
him, got into a quarrel and came close to him before they settled
their dispute ; having done so, they turned to go away ;
he then made his escape and got to the British army. After
suffering all the horrors of a war lasting seven years, losing
his property — everything but his loyalty — and that, having
extended faithfully through the whole fmnily, is not likely to
be lost. His wife and six of his children died from the suflfer-
ings consequent upon such a war. Previous to this he had re-
ceived a captain's commission. After the war closed, he went
to New Brunswick, and remained there fourteen years, coniing
to Canada in 1801, and settled in the township of Walsingham.
My father, Alexander Hutchison, was the only surviving son by
his first wife. In the war of 1812, my grandfather went out
against the enemy with his sons, Alexander, David, and James,
in which war my father lost his life.
" Hoping you may be able to find something in these frag-
ments which will be interesting to you,
" I remain, with the greatest respect,
" Yours most faithfully,
"J. B. Hutchison."
Patriotic feelings — Early Settlement of Prince Edivard
County and Neighbouring Townshijos.
Extracts of an address entitled " Scraps of Local History,"
delivered by Canniff" Haight, Esq., before the Mechanics' Insti-
tute of Picton, March 16th, 1859:
" If I feel a pride in one thing more than another, it. is that
I am a Canadian. I rejoice more in being the descendant of
these early pioneers of Canada, than if noble blood coursed my
veins. I point you back with more unmitigated pleasure to that
solitary log cabin in the wilderness which once bordered your
fine bay, as the home of my fathers, than I would to some
baronial castle in other lands.
" ' Is there for honest poverty,
That hangs his head, and a' that 1
220 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
The coward slave we pass him by —
We dare be poor for a' that.
For a' that, and a' that,
Our toils obscure and a' that ;
Tlie rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The man's the gowd for a' that !'
"We love our country. Thousands of sweet recollections
cluster round our childhood's homes, and as we think of them
the words of Scott occur to us :
" ' Breathes there a man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land ;
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned.
As home his footsteps he hath turned '
" What part of the world can you point me to to show such
rapid changes as have occurred here ? Where among the countries
of the earth shall we find a quicker and more vigorous growth ?
Seventy years ago this beautiful and wealthy county of Prince
Edward was one dense and untrod forest. We can hardly
realize the fact, that even one century has not passed away
since those strong-hearted men pushed their way into the
wilderness of Upper Canada. Were they not heroes ?
"In the summer of the year 1795, or thereabouts, a company
of six persons, composed of two married men and their wives,
with two small children, pushed a rough-looking and somewhat
unwieldy little boat away from the shore in the neighbourhood
of Poughkeepsie, and turned its prow up the Hudson. A rude
sail was hoisted, but it flapped lazily against the slender mast.
The two men betake themselves to the oars. The sun was just
showing his face above the eastern woods as they pulled out
into the river. The boat was crowded with sundry household
matters — all carefully packed up and stowed away ; a very
small place was left at the stern, and was occupied by the two
women and the children. The mother was a small and delicate-
looking creature, well and neatly dressed. Had you been there,
you would have observed tear after tear dropping from the
pale cheek, as she bent in silence over her youngest babe ; and
see, the eyes of that young father, too, are suffused with tears.
Why do they weep ? Whither are they bound ? Not a word
is spoken. They are too sad to talk. Still the oar keeps its
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 221
measured stroke, and they glide slowly on, and thus may we
follow them day after day. Now and then a gentle breeze
fills the sail, and wafts the small boat on. When the shades of
evening begin to fall around them, they push to shore, and rear
a temporary tent. Then the frugal supper is spread upon the
green grass, and they gather round it, and forget their toils in
speculations upon the future. But the morrow draws on, with
its demands upon their strength ; so they lay them down to
rest. In due course they reach Albany, then a small Dutch
town filled with Dutch people, Dutch comforts and frugality,
and Dutch cabbage. This in those days was one of the out-
posts of civilization. Beyond was a wilderness-land but
little known. Some necessaries are purchased, and again our
little company launch away. They reach the place where the city
of Troy now stands, and turn away to the left into the Mohawk
river, and proceed slowly, and often with great difficulty, up the
rapids and windings of the stream. The rich and fertile valley
of the Mohawk of to-day was then the home of the Indian.
There the celebrated Chief Brant had lived but a short time
before, but had now withdrawn into the wilds of Western
Canada. The voyagers, after several days of hard labour and
difficulty, emerge into the little lake Oneida, lying in the north-
western part of the State of New York, through which they
pass with ease and pleasure. The most difficult part of their
journey had been passed. They reach the.Onondago river, and
soon pass down it to Oswego, then an old fort which the French
had reared when they possessed the country as a barrier against
the encroachments of the wily Indian. Several bloody frays
have occurred here, but our friends did not pause to learn
their history. Their small craft now danced upon the wide
bosom of Ontario, but they did not push out into the lake, and
away across it. No ; they are careful sailors, and they believed
no doubt ' that small boats should not venture far from shore,'
and so they wind along it until they reach Gravely Point, now
known by the more dignified name of Cape Vincent. Here
they strike across the channel, and thence around the lower
end of Wolf Island, and into Kingston Bay, when they come to
shore and transact some business. There were not many streets
or fine store-houses in Kingston at this time. A few log-houses
composed the town. An addition was made to their diminished
222 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
stock of eatables, and away they push again. They steer now
up the Bay of Quints ; and what a wild and beautiful scene that
must have been ! Could those toil-worn voyagers have failed
to mark it ? Why do they slacken their pace ? Why do they
so often rest upon their oars and look around ? Why do they
push into this little cove and that ? Why do they laugh and
talk more than usual ? Perhaps their journey is drawing to an
end ! We shall see. They go up the bay until they reach
township number five. This township, now known as Adolphus-
town, is composed of five points or arms of land, which run out
into the bay. They run round three of these points, and turn
down an arm of the bay called Hay-bay, and after proceeding
some two miles pull to shore. Their journey it would seem had
come to an end, for they begin at once to unload their boat
and build a tent. The sun sinks down behind the western
woods, and they, weary and worn, lay down to rest. Six weeks
had passed since we saw them launch away in quest of this
wilderness home. Look at them, and tell me what you think
of the prospect. Is it far enough away from the busy haunts
of men to suit you ? or would you not rather sing,
" ' Oh, Solitude, where are the charms
Which sages have seen in thy face 1
Better dwell in the midst of alarms,
Than reign in this horrible place.'
" With the first glimmer of the morning's light, all hands are
up and at work. A small spot is cleared away ; trees are
felled and a house is built. I fancy that it was not large nor
commodious ; that the rooms were not numerous nor spacious.
The furniture, I suppose, did not amount to much either in
quality or quantity ; an inventory thereof would probably run
somewhat after this fashion — a pot or two, perhaps a few quite
common plates, cups and saucers, knives and forks, a box or
two of linen, a small lot of bed-clothes, etc., with a
" ' Chest contriv'd a double debt to pay —
A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day.'
" This, ladies and gentlemen, is no fancy sketch, but one drawn
from the shadows of the past. You may fijid hundreds of
similar adventures in the past history of our country. Such
was the first home of the young wife whom I have mentioned.
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 223
She had once lived in comfort, but by the fate of war the home
of a father and husband had been confiscated, and hence they
had sought for a dwelling-place in Canada, when England
offered other homes to those who had fought her battles. A
grandchild of that couple now stands before you.
" We can form no correct idea of the difficulties which beset
these early inhabitants, nor of the hardships and privations they
endured. They were not unfrequently reduced to the very
verge of starvation, yet they struggled on. Tree after tree fell
before the axe, and the small clearing was turned to immediate
account. A few necessaries of life were produced, and even
these, such as they were, were the beginnings of comfort —
comfort indeed, but far removed from the idea we associate with
the term.
" But time rolled on. The openings in the forest grew larger
and wider. The log cabins began to multiply, and the curling
smoke told a silent but cheerful tale. There dwelt a neighbour,
miles perhaps away, but a neighbour nevertheless. The term
bears a wide difference now-a-days. If you would like an idea
of the proximity of humanity and the luxury of society in
those days, just place a few miles, say six or eight, of dense
woods between you and your neighbour, and you may get a
faint conception of the delights of a home in the woods.
" There are some here, I presume, who have heard their parents
or their grandparents tell of the dreadful sufferings they
endured the second year after the settlement of the Bay of
Quints country. The Government was to provide food, etc., for
two years. It could hardly be expected that men could go
into the woods with their families, and clear up and raise
enough for their support, the first or even the second year. The
second year's Government supply, through some bad manage-
ment, was frozen up in the lower part of the St. Lawrence,
and in consequence the people were reduced to a state of
famine. Men willingly offered pretty much all they possessed
for food. I could show you one of the finest farms in Hay-bay
that was offered to my grandfather for a half hundred of flour,
and refused. A very respectable old lady, whom numbers of
you knew, but who some time since went away to her rest —
whose offspring, some at least, are luxuriating in comfort above
the middle walks of life — was wont in those days to wander
224 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
away early in the spring to the woods and gather and eat the
buds of the basswood, and then bring an apron or basketful!
home to the children. Glad were they to pluck the rye and
barley heads, as soon as the kernel had formed, for food ; and not
many miles from Picton a beef's bone passed from house to
house, and was boiled again and again in order to extract
some nutriment. It seems incredulous, but it is no fiction, and
surely no homoeopathist would desire to be placed on a lower
regimen.
" I feel it unnecessary almost for me to tell you that the
largest proportion of the first settlers of this province were
Americans who had adhered to the cause of England. After
the capture of General Burgojme, many of the Royalists with
their families moved into Canada ; and upon the evacuation of
New York, at the close of the war, a still greater number
followed. A large proportion of these were soldiers, disbanded
and left without employ. Some there were who had lost their
estates by confiscation ; so that nearly all were destitute and
dependent upon the liberality of the country whose battles
they had fought, and for whose cause they had suffered. In
order, therefore, to reward their loyalty and relieve their
present necessities, as well as to supply some means of future
subsistence, the British Government determined upon making
liberal grants of the land in Upper Canada and other provinces
to the American Loyalists. The measure was not only an act of
justice and humanity, but it was sound in policy and has been
crowned with universal success.
" The grants were made free of expense and upon the follow-
ing scale : A field-officer received 5,000 acres ; a captain, 3,000 ;
a subaltern, 2,000 ; and a private soldier, 200 acres. A survey was
accordingly made, commencing near Lake St. Francis, then the
highest French settlement, and extended along the shores of
the St. Lawrence up to Lake Ontario, and thence along the
lake, and round the Bay of Quintd. Townships were laid out,
and then subdivided into concessions and lots of 200 acres.
These townships were numbered, but remained without names
for many years afterwards. Of these numbers there were two
divisions — one including the townships below Kingston on the
river, east to the St. Francis settlement ; the others from Kings-
ton, west to the head of the Bay of Quintd. This will at once ex-
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 225
plain to you the reason why the old people used to talk of first,
second, third, fourth town, etc., as far back as we can re-
member and up to the present. No names were given to the
townships by legal proclamation, as we said before, until long
after they were settled, and hence the habit was formed of
designating them by numbers.
" The settlement of the surveyed portion of the Midland
district, so named because of its then central position, com-
menced in the summer of 1 784. The new settlers were supplied
with farming utensils, building materials, provisions, and some
clothing, for the two first years, at the expense of the nation ;
and in order that the love of country may take deeper root in
the hearts of these true men, the Government determined to put
a mark of honour, as the Orders of Council expressed it, upon the
families who had adhered to the unity of the empire, and joined
the Royal standard in America before the treaty of separation
in the year 1783. A list of such persons was directed in 1789
to be made out and returned, to the end that their posterity
might be discriminated from the future settlers. From these
two emphatic words, the Unity of the Empire, it was styled
the U. E. List, and they whose names were entered upon it
were distinguished as U. E. Loyalists. You are aware of the
fact that this was not a mere empty distinction, but was, in
reality, a title of some consequence ; for it not only provided for
the U. E.'s themselves, but guaranteed unto all their children,
upon arriving at the age of twenty-one years, 200 acres of land
free from all expense. I always look back on these early acts
of the English nation with the fathers of this growing Canada
with pleasure, and I venerate the memory of those true and
noble-hearted men, who loved their fatherland so well that they
even preferred to live under the protection of her flag in the
wild woods of Canada, and endure hunger and want, than
enjoy the comforts of home under the banner of a rebellious
but now independent people. And I hope, ladies and gentlemen,
that we, the sons and daughters of those whom our mother
country was wont to honour, may never love our country and
its institutions less than they.
"Kingston is the oldest Upper Canadian town by many years.
Here the white man found his way over a century before any
settlement was made or thought of. The crafty and industrions
VOL. II. — 15
226 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAl^. Ai.1.
French Governor, De Courcelles, in order to check the encroach-
ments of the Five Nations, despatched a messenger from Quebec
to their chiefs, stating that he had some business of great impor-
tance to communicate, and desired them to proceed to Cataraqui,
where he would meet them. (I observe here that Cataraqui is
an Indian name, and means ' Rocks above water.') As soon as the
deputies of the Indians arrived, a Council was held. The Gov-
ernor informed them that he was going to build a fort there,
simply to facilitate the trade between them and to serve as a
depot for merchandise. The chiefs, ignorant of the real intent
of the design, readily agreed to a proposition which seemed to
be intended for their advantage ; but this, so far from being the
case, or what the Indians expected, was really to be a barrier
against them in future wars. While measures were being com-
pleted to build the fort, Courcelles was recalled and Count de
Frontenac sent out in his place. Frontenac carried out the
designs of his predecessor and completed the fort in 1672,
which received and retained his name for many years. Kings-
ton was subsequently substituted, and the county received the
name of Frontenac."
Letters from the late Rev. George J. Ryerse, dated June 12th
and June 23rd, 1861, give some particulars of his fathers
coming to Canada, and of the earliest settlement of the
London District.
His father, Colonel Samuel Ryerse, was appointed Lieutenant
of the county, and authorized to organise the militia and appoint
the officers, as also the local civil court, of which he was the
first Judge. The following letters indicate what he sacrificed
and endured for his allegiance to the unity of the empire, and
for which allegiance he and thousands of others were banished
from the United States and their property confiscated ; but the
writer K^s never heard a word from any one of these veteran
Loyalists regretting the part he had taken :
"Port Ryerse, 12th June, 1861.
" My Dear Cousin, —
" I received your circular some time since, but, through f orget-
fulness, I did not at once give an answer. I am highly gratified
with your noble undertaking, and humbly trust that you may
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 227
live to succeed and be amply rewarded. I am sorry that I
have no documents that would be of use to you. You are
aware of the staunch loyalty that was inherent in our parents,
that made them sacrifice everything out of regard for the
British Throne, and endure every privation in their early
settlement in this country. It was in 1794 my father came
here, and gave orders to his family that if he should decease
while on his way through the United States, to take his body
to British soil for burying. At that time there were but eight
families residing within thirty miles of this place, except
Indians ; no roads ; the nearest mill 100 miles distant by
water (at Niagara Falls). My father purchased corn of the
Indians at the Grand River, thirty miles from home, and carried
it home on his shoulders. Afterwards he bought a yoke of
oxen of the Indians, and on a toboggin sled put his son, and
with his axe and compass made his way through the woods
and streams to his beloved home. Two years afterwards he
built a saw mill, and afterwards a grist mill. These nearly proved
his ruin, not understanding the business, and very little to sus-
tain them ; they were badly built, and proved a bother to him,
but still a great help to the settlement for a long time. Mer-
chandise was so very expensive and produce so very cheap
that the early settlers could barely exist ; but they loved their
country, and they have gone to their rest, and I feel proud that
so many of their children inherit their spirit.
" I am, yours truly,
" George J. Ryerse.
"Rev. E. Ryerson."
" Port Ryerse, 23rd June, 1861.
" Dear Cousin, —
" Your kind letter I received, and in answer to your sugges-
tions I have to state that my father was a captain in the New
Jersey Volunteers during the American Revolution ; and at its
close in 1783, having his property confiscated in the United
States, he went to New Brunswick and drew lands according
to his rank as captain ; but being disappointed both in soil and
climate, finding it to be sterile and uncongenial, he determined
to remove to Canada. In the spring of 1794 he started and
went to Long Island, the place where the city of Brooklyn now
228 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
stands, and there left his family. While on foot, he went to
Canada (U.C.) to better his condition by looking out a more
congenial place. Having accomplished his purpose, he started,
at the opening of navigation, with his family, in company with
Captain Bonta's family, first on board a sloop (as all was then
done by sloops) to Albany, thence by land to Schenectady,
where they procured a flat-bottomed boat, in which families
and baggage were put ; thence, with poles and oars, against a
strong current, they made their way up the Mohawk river a
long distance, until they came to a place called Wood Creek,
which they again navigated for a long distance toward Lake
Ontario, until they approached a stream called the Oswego,
which to enter they had to draw their boat by hand across a
portage (I think some two miles) ; thence down this stream
to the lake to Oswego ; thence up the lake in this boat west-
ward to the Niagara river ; thence up the Niagara as far as
Queenston, where again they had to pass over a portage of
nine miles around the Falls to Chippawa ; thence up the river
eighteen miles to Lake Erie ; thence up the lake westward
eighty miles to the place my father had selected (and which is
now my home), arriving here 1st July, 1795. It was in this
boat that they went to mill, as before stated to you. A kind
Providence furnished plenty of fish and game at this early day,
or the people could not have survived. .The total absence of
roads, schools, and religious teachers for many years were
among the heavy privations that the early settlers had to
endure.
" I remain, yours trul}^,
" George J. Ryerse.
"Rev. E. Ryerson."
Historical Memoranda by Mrs. Amelia Harris, of Eldon
House, London, Ontario, only daugJder of the late Colonel
Samuel Ryerse, and sister of the late Rev. Geo. J. Ryerse,
writer of the foregoing short letters.
The husband of Mrs. Harris was an active and scientific
officer in the Royal Navy, having been employed with the late
Admirals Bayfield and Owen in the survey of the Canadian
lakes and rivers, by the Admiralty, during the years 1815 to
1817. It was during the progress of this survey that Miss
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 229
Ryerse married. After a few years' residence at Kingston, Mr.
and Mrs. Harris returned to a beautiful homestead on Long
Point Bay, intending to reside there permanently. In the days
of the early settlement, a more refined and cultivated society
was to be found in the country than usually in the towns and
villages. Mr. Harris was at once selected by the various
Governments of the day to be the recipient of various Govern-
ment offices. During the years 1837-38 he took an active part
in quelling the rebellion, and is believed by many to have been
the head and front and organizer of the expedition which sent
the steamer Caroline over the Falls. He was the first man on
her deck, and the last to leave, having set her on fire.
The late Edward Ermatinger, in his Life of Colonel Talbot,
refers to the Harris family as follows :
A.D. 1834. " By degrees the officers of the Court removed to
London, and Mr. Harris was the first to build a house of con-
siderable dimensions on a handsome piece of ground highly
elevated above the banks of the River Thames. This house
was long the resort of the first men in Canada, and in this house
the venerable founder of the Talbot settlement lay during his
first serious illness, while on his way to England. Every man
of rank or distinction who visited this part of Canada became
the guest of Mr. Harris — the late Lord Sydenham, the various
lieutenant-governors and governor-generals, and the present
Lord Derby, were among the number."
In the following memoranda, which Mrs. Harris wi'ote more
than twenty years since, at the wish of her children, but not for
publication, she gives a graphic and highly interesting account of
her father's early settlement in Canada, and the circumstances
of the first settlers, and the state of society of that time :
" Captain Samuel Ryerse, one of the early settlers in Canada,
was the descendant of an old Dutch family in New Jersey,
and both his father and grandfather held judicial appointments
under Kino;s Georo;e II. and III. When the rebellion com-
menced in 1776, and the British Government was anxious to
raise provincial troops, they offered commissions to any young
gentlemen who could enlist a certain number of young men ;
sixty, I think, entitled them to a captaincy. My father,
Captain Ryerse, being popular in his neighbourhood, found no
difficulty in enlisting double the number required, and on
230 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
presenting himself and men at headquarters, New York, was
gazetted captain in the 4th Battalion New Jersey Volunteers,
in which regiment he served with distinction during the seven
years' war.
"After the acknowledgment of American Independence by
England, and the British troops were about to be disbanded,
the British Government offered them a free transport to New
Brunswick, and a grant of land. When there, little choice was
left to those who had sacrificed all for connection with the
mother country. On my father's arrival in New Brunswick
he obtained a lot of land in or near Fredericton, the present
seat of government ; and there he met my mother, who was a
refugee also, and they were married.
" After remaining there several years, his friends entreated
him to return to New York, holding out great inducements if
he would consent to do so. He accepted the offer of his friends
and returned, but he soon discovered that the rancorous, bitter
feelings which had arisen during the war were not extinct, and
that it was too soon for a British subject to seek a home in the
United States. My mother loved her native city, and might
not have been induced again to leave it had it not been for
domestic affliction. She brought from the healthy climate of
New Brunswick four fine children, all of whom she buried in
New York in eight weeks. She gave birth to four more ; three
of those had died also, and she felt sure if she stayed there she
would lose the only remaining one. Therefore she readily con-
sented to my father's proposal to come to Canada, where his
old friend. General Simcoe, was at that time governor. In the
summer of 1794 my father and a friend started for Canada
The journey was then a most formidable one, and before com-
mencing it wills were made and farewells given, as if a return
was more than doubtful.
" On his arrival at Niagara he was warmly greeted by his
old friend, General Simcoe, who advised him by all means to
settle in Canada, holding out many inducements for him to do
so. He promised my father a grant of 3,000 acres of land as
a captain in the army, 1,200 as a settler, and that my mother
and each of her sons should have a grant of 1,200, and each of
her daughters a grant of GOO acres.
" My father was pleased with what he saw of the countrv,
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 231
and heard a favourable account of the climate, and decided at
once to return as early the ensuing year as possible. On his
return to New York he commenced making arrangements for
his move the ensuing spring.
" It would be much easier for a family to go from Canada
to China now, than it was to come from New York to Canada
then. He had to purchase a boat large enough to hold his
family and goods, with supplies of groceries for two or three
years, with farming utensils, tools, pots, boilers, etc., and yet
the boat must not be too large to get over the portage from the
Hudson to the Mohawk. As there were no waggon roads from
Albany to the Niagara frontier, families coming to Canada had
to come down the Mohawk to Lake Ontario, and enter Canada
in that way. My father fovmd it a weaiy journey, and was
months in accomplishing it.
" On my father's arrival at Niagara, at that time the seat of
government, he called on his Excellency General Simcoe, who
had just returned from a tour through the Province of Canada
West, then one vast wilderness. He asked General Simcoe's
advice as to where he should choose his resting-place. He
recommended the county of Norfolk (better known for many
years as Long Point), which had been recently surveyed.
" As it was now drawing towards the close of summer, it
would require all their time to get up a shanty and prepare for
the winter. Consequently, arrangements were made imme-
diately for continuing their journey. The heavy batteau was
transported from Queenston to Chippawa, around the Falls,
a distance of twelve miles. Supplies were added to those
brought from New York, and they once more started on their
journey, bidding goodbye to the last vestige of civilization.
They were twelve days making 100 miles — not bad travelling in
those days, taking the current of the river and lake, adverse
winds, and an unknown coast into consideration.
" When my father came within the bay formed by Long Point,
he watched the coast for a favourable impression, and, after
a scrutiny of many miles, the boat was run into a small creek,
the high banks sloping gradually on each side.
" Directions were given to the men to erect the tent for my
mother. My father had not been long on shore before he
decided that that should he his home. In wandering about,
232 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
he came to an eminence which would, when the trees were
felled, command a view of the harbour. He ^azed around
him for a few moments and said, ' Here I will be buried,' and
there, after fourteen years' toil, he sleeps in peace.
" The men my father hired in New York all wished to settle
in Canada, and were glad to avail themselves of an opportunity
of coming free of expense, and promised to remain with him
until he had a locr-house built, and had made himself comfortable.
He had paid them a great portion of their wages in advance,
to enable them to get necessaries in New York. Immediately
on his arrival at Niagara they left him, with one excep-
tion, and went in search of localities for themselves, very
little regard at that time being paid to engagements, and there
being no means to enforce them ; consequently, he had to hire
fresh hands at Niagara, who were men, like the former, on the
look-out for land. After one day's rest at Ryerse Creek, they re-
embarked, and went fourteen miles further up the bay, to the
house of a German settler who had been there two years, and
had a garden well stocked with vegetables.
" The appearance of the boat was haded with delight by those
solitary beings, and my mother and child were soon made wel-
come, and the best that a miserable log-house, or rather hut,
could afford was at her service. This kind, good family con-
sisted of father, mother, one son and one daughter. Mr. Proyer,
the father, was a fine-looking old man with a flowing beard,
and was known for many years throughout the Long Point
settlement as ' Doctor Proyer.' He possessed a thorough
knowledge. of witches, their ways and doings, and the art of
expelling them, and also the use of the divining rod, with which
he could not only find water, but could also tell how far below
the surface of the earth precious metals were concealed, but
was never fortunate enough to discover any in the neighbour-
hood of Long Point. Here my father got his goods under
shelter and left my mother, and returned to Ryerse Creek,
intending to build a log-house as soon as possible. Half a
dozen active men will build a very comfortable primitve log-
house in ten or twelve days ; that is, cut and lay up the loo-s
and chink them, put on a bark roof, cut holes for the windows
and door, and build a chimney of mud and sticks. Sawing
CHAP. XLI.] " AND THEIR TIMES. 233
boards by hand for floor and doors, making sash and shingles,
is an after and longer process.
" But soon after my father returned he fell ill with Lake
fever ; his men erected a shanty, open in front like an Indian
camp, placed my father in it, and left him with his son, a lad
of fifteen years of age, the son of a former wife, as his only
attendant. When my father began to recover, my half brother
was taken ill,, and there they remained almost helpless, alone
for three weeks.
" My mother hearing nothing of or from them, became almost
frantic, as some of the party were to have returned in a few
days. She prevailed upon Mike Proyer, the son, to launch his
bark canoe, and to take her and my brother, then a year and a
half old, in search of my father. On approaching Ryerse
Creek, after a many days' paddle along the coast, they saw
a blue smoke curling above the trees, and very soon my mother
stood in front of the shanty, where my father sat with a stick,
turning an immense turkey, which hung, suspended by a string,
before a bright fire. The day previous, a large flock of wild
turkeys had come very near his camp, and commenced fighting.
Without moving from his shanty, he killed six at one shot.
He afterwards, at single shots, killed eight more, and the
united strength of him and my brother was scarcely sufficient
to bring them into camp. My mother used to look back upon
that evening as one of the happiest of her life. She had found
her loved ones, after torturing her mind with all sorts of horrors
— Indians, wild beasts, snakes, illness, and death had all been
imagined. The next day, Mike Proyer's canoe was laden with
wild turkeys, and he returned alone, as my mother refused to
separate herself again from my father. A few days after, a party
of pedestrians arrived, on the look-out for land, and they at once
set to work and put up the wished-for log-house or houses, for
there were two attached, which gave them a parlour, two bed-
rooms, and a kitchen and garret. On removing from the
shanty to this house, my mother felt as if in a palace. They
bought a cow from Mr. Proyer and collected their goods, and
when cold weather set in they were comfortable.
" My father found it necessary to return to Niagara to secure
the patent for the lands he had selected, and also to provide for
wants not previously known or understood. The journey was
234 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
long and tedious, travelling on foot on the lake shore, and by
Indian paths through the woods, fording the creeks as he best
could. At the Grand River, or River Ouse, there was an Indian
reservation of six miles on each side of the river from its
mouth to its source, owned by two tribes of Indians, Mohawks
and Cayugas, whose wants were well supplied with very little
exertion of their own, as the river and lake abounded with fish,
the woods with deer and smaller game, and the rich flats along
the river yielded abundance of maize with very little cultiva-
tion. They were kind and inoffensive in their manner, and
would take the traveller across the river, or part with their
products for a very small reward.
" On my father's application for the lots he had chosen, he was
told by the Council that the two at Ryerse Creek could only be
granted conditionally, as they possessed very valuable water
privileges, and that whoever took them must build both a flour
and a saw-mill. My father accepted the conditions, secured the
grant for his own lands, but left my mother's for a future day,
and at once made arrangements for purchasing the necessary
material for his mills — bolting cloths, mill-stones, iron, and
screws, etc. — and then with a back load of twine, provisions for
his journey, and his light fusee, he commenced his return home,
where he arrived in good health, after an absence of twelve
days. It is only the settlers in a new country that know what
pleasure a safe return can give.
" Long Point now boasted four inhabitants in twenty miles,
all settled on the lake shore. Their nearest neighbour, Peter
Walker, at the mouth of Patterson's Creek [now Port Dover],
was three miles distant by water and six by land. But from
this time, 1795, for several years to come, there was a constant
influx of settlers.
" Few days passed without some foot traveller asking a night's
rest. The most of the travellers would set to work cheerfully
for a few days, and assist in cutting roads, making sheds, sawing
boards, or felling timber. The winter was now fast approach-
ing, and much was to be done in preparation for the coming
spring. My father succeeded in hiring five or six men for as
many months. The great object was to get some land cleared,
so that they could plant maize, potatoes, and garden vegetables
for the next year's consumption. They had also to make
CHAP. XL!.] AND THEIR TIMES. 235
preparations for sugar-making, by hollowing out troughs, one
to each tree that was tapped, sufficiently large to hold the sap
that would run in one day.
" Their evenings were devoted to netting the twine, which
my father had purchased at Niagara for that purpose. My
mother hired Barbara Proyer as a help, and time passed less
heavily than she had imagined. My father had brought with
him a sufficient quantity of flour and salt pork to last them a
year ; for fresh meat and fish he depended upon his gun and
spear, and for many years they had always a good supply of
both. My father had a couple of deer-hounds, and he used to
go to the woods for his deer as a farmer would go to his fold
for a sheep. Wild turkey and partridge were bagged with
very little skill or exertion, and when the creek and lake were
not frozen he need scarcely leave his own door to shoot ducks ;
but the great sporting ground — and it is still famous, and the
resort of sporting gentlemen from Toronto, Woodstock, and
indeed all parts of Canada West — is at the head of Long Point
Bay. I have known him, several years later, return from there
with twenty wild geese and one hundred ducks, the result of a
few days' shooting. Pigeons were so plentiful, so late as 1810
and 1812, that they could be knocked down with poles. Great
would have been the sufferings of the early settlers had not a
kind and heavenly Father made this provision for them. But
deer were not the only animals that abounded in the woods ;
bears and wolves were plentiful, ahd the latter used to keep up
a most melancholy howl about the house at night, so near that
my mother could scarcely be persuaded that they were not
under the window. The cow, for security, was tied to the
kitchen door every night ; during the day she accompanied the
men to the field they were chopping, and fed upon browse,
which kept her fat and in good heart. — the men making a point
of felling a maple tree each morning for her special benefit.
Their first sugar-making was not very beautiful, but they
made sufficient of a very bad quality for the year's consump-
tion. The potatoes gave a great yield ; the maize was eaten
and destroyed by the racoons ; the apple and pear pips grew
nicely, as did the peach, cherry, and plum stones, and my
mother's balsams and few flowers from the new rich soil were
beautiful.
236 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
"The summer of 1796 passed away with few incidents at
Ryerse Creek, except the arrival of settlers.
" This year there was a total failure of the grain crops, not
only in the new settlements, but throughout the United States.
The Indians alone had preserved the maize from destruction
by the racoons, squirrels and bears, which had invaded the
settlements by thousands in search of food, as there were no
nuts in the woods. The settlers had now to depend upon the
Indians at the Grand River for their bread, and they continued
to sell their maize at the same price as formerly, and during
the year of scarcity never raised it. My father procured his
year's supply, but there were no mills ; the nearest ones were
south of the Short. Hills, seventy miles distant. Lucky was the
family that owned a coffee mill in the winter of 1797. My
father had a number of hands gettingf out timber for his mills
and clearing land, and when they returned from their work in
the evenings they used to grind in the coffee-mill maize for the
next day's consumption. They soon learned the exact quantity
required, and each man ground his own allowance, dividing that
of the rest of the household amongst them. The meal was
made into johnny-cakes, eaten hot for breakfast, cold for dinner,
and the remainder in mush with milk for supper ; and upon
this fare they enjoyed perfect good health, were always cheer-
ful, and apparently happy.
" The greatest good-feeling existed amongst the settlers,
although they were of all nations and creeds and no creeds.
Many of those families who had remained neutral during the
revolution to save their property, and still retained their prefer-
ence for the British Government, now sought homes in Canada,
or assisted their sons to do so. The Quakers and Yunkers
were amongst the best settlers, as they always brought some
property with them, and were generally peaceable and indus-
trious.
" Lands were so easily obtained, and so much encouragement
was given by Government to settlers, that many of the half-
pay officers and soldiers who had gone to New Brunswick
found their way here, as well as many of the idle, discontented,
dissipated, vicious and worthless of the United States. But at
the Settler's Home all were made welcome ; the meals, victuals
and night's lodging were freely given to all, and for years after.
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 237
to my recollection, during the summer season our house was
never free from travellers ; not that there was any particular
merit due to our hospitality, for the man that would have closed
his door against a traveller would have been looked upon as
worse than a savage. My mother, this summer, had a dreadful
alarm, which she used to describe to me with great feeling many
years after. My little brother (George), for whose sake she
had encountered all the privations and hardships of an early
settler, gave rise to numerous fears and anxieties if he was out
of her sight a few minutes. Endless misfortunes might befall
him ; he might be eaten up by wild beasts ; or, he might be
stolen by the Indians (their stealing children not being a very
uncommon occurrence in those days, and during the summer
season there used to be hundreds encamped on the beach) ; or,
he might be drowned ; or, he might wander away and be lost
in the woods ; and he would steal away and follow the men to
the field when not closely watched. One day George was
missing, and great was the commotion. Search was made every-
where, and George's name sounded through the forest in every
direction. At last his hat was found in the creek. My mother
sat perfectly quiet on the bank, with feelings not easily described,
while my father probed the deep holes, and thrust his spear
under the driftwood, expecting every time he drew it out to see
George's red frock rise to the surface, when she heard with
delight a little voice say ' Mamma,' from the opposite side of
the creek. And there was George, with his little bare head
peeping through the bushes, with his pet cat by his side. The
reaction was too much for my mother ; she fell fainting to the
ground. George had lost his hat walking over a log which the
men used as a bridge.
" The settlement was now considered in a most prosperous
state ; in a half -circle of twenty miles, probably there was a
population of a hundred. People had ceased to count the
families on their fingers, but no census was taken. The
mills were fast advancing towards completion. Some few of the
settlers grew wheat sufficient for their own consumption, and a
little to sell ; but the squirrels, racoons, and pigeons were very
destructive to the grain of the early settlers. A dog that was
trained for hunting the racoons, or a ' coon dog,' as they were
called, was of great value, and the young lads, for many years
238 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
after, used to make coon parties on fine moonlight nights, and
go from farm to farm, killing those animals ; and, although the
necessity has long passed away, these parties still continue ; and,
though a virtue and kindness in the commencement, have ended
in vice, and the coon parties now meet together to rob orchards
and gardens of their best fruit and melons. One bitter cold
night in February, 1798, the household was alarmed by the
announcement of my mother's illness. No assistance was to be
had nearer than three miles ; no horses and no roads — only a
track through the woods. Mr. Powel, who had just secured a
lot near us, volunteered to go in search of Granny McCall,
with the ox-team. After some weary hours' watching, the ' gee
haw !' was heard on the return in the woods, and Mrs. McCall
soon stood beside my mother, and very soon after the birth of a
dauofhter was announced. That daughter is now making this
record of the past. The settlement was now increasing so
fast that the general voice was for a town, and my father was
petitioned to lay one out at the mouth of Ryerse Creek, and
was at last prevailed upon to do so, and called it Clarence. The
first applicant for a lot was a Mr. Corklin, a very good black-
smith, a mechanic that was very much wanted in the settle-
ment. He was a very intelligent young man for his class, and
a great favourite with everyone, although he had one fault, that
of indulging in strong drinks occasionally. He bargained for a
lot, and put up a frame for a house. My father bought him a
set of blacksmith's tools to commence with, and built him a
shop. The next thing was a wife. My mother soon saw that
a tender feeling was growing up between the young black-
smith and her nurse, a pretty girl, to whom she was much
attached. My mother's advice was against the marriage, on
account of his one bad habit ; but of course she was not listened
to, and they were married.
" A few months after the marriage, Mr. Corklin went in a log
canoe to the head of the bay, on business, and was to return
the next day ; but day after day passed, and no Mr. Corklin
appeared. At last the poor wife's anxiety became so great that
a messenger was sent in search of him. He had been at Dr.
Proyer's, but left the day he was expected home. The alarm
was given, and search commenced along the lake shore. They
found his canoe drifted on shore, laden with game, vegetables
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 239
and a few apples, his hat, and an empty bottle that smelt of
rum ; but he was gone. They supposed that he had fallen
overboard without upsetting the canoe. His body they could
not find for days after, and his wife used to wander along the
lake shore, from early dawn until dark, with the hope that she
might find his body. One day she saw a number of birds on
a drift log that was half out of the water. By the side of this
log lay the remains of her liusband. The eagles had picked
his eyes out, but had only commenced their feast. This was
the first death in the settlement. My father took back the lot,
paid for the frame house, kept his smith's tools, and so ended
his town.
" Upon more mature reflection, he decided that the neighbour-
hood of a small town would be the reverse of agreeable, as the
first inhabitants would be those that were too idle to improve
a farm for themselves, and bad habits are generally the atten-
dants of idleness, and that he, in place of being the owner of
all, would only be proprietor in common with all the idle and
dissipated of a new country.
" On my father's arrival in the country he had been sworn in
a justice of the peace for the London and Western districts — a
very extensive jurisdiction over wild lands with few inhabi-
tants ; for those districts embraced all the lands between Lake
Erie and Lake Huron, the Grand Riv^er, and Rivers Detroit
and St. Clair. Courts were held at Sandwich, a distance of
nearly two hundred miles, without roads, so that magistrates
had to settle all disputes as they best could, perform all
marriages, bury the dead, and prescribe for the sick. In addi-
tion to the medicine chest, my father purchased a pair of tooth-
drawers, and learned to draw teeth, to the great relief of the
suffering. So popular did he become in that way, that in after
years they used to entreat him to draw their teeth in preference
to a medical man — the one did it gratuitously, the other, of
course, charged. My father put up two or three small log-
houses which were tenanted by very poor people whose labour
he required. From one of these houses my mother hired a
nurse. Poll Spragge, who was a merry, laughing, ' who-cares '
sort of girl. Upon my mother remarking the scantiness of her
wardrobe, which was limited to one garment, a woollen slip that
reached from the throat to the feet, Poll related a misfortune
240 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CMAi-. Js.1.1
which had befallen her a short time before. She then, as now,
had but the one article of dress, and it was made of buckskin,
a leather something like chamois ; and when it became greasy
and dirty, her mother said she must wash it that afternoon, as
she was going visiting, and that Poll must have her slip dry to
put on before her father and mother returned from the field.
During the interval, she must, of necessity, represent Eve before
her fall. Poll had seen her mother, in the absence of soap, make
a pot of strong ley from wood ashes, and boil her father's and
brother's coarse linen shirts in it. She subjected her leather
slip to the same process. We all know the effect of great heat
upon leather. When Poll took her slip from the pot it was a
shrivelled-up mass, partly decomposed by the strong ley. Poor
Poll was in despair. She watched for the return of her family
with no enviable feelings, and when she heard them coming
she lifted a board and concealed herself in the potato hole,
under the floor. Her mother soon discovered what had befallen
Poll, and search was made for her. After a time, a feeble
voice was heard from under the floor, and Poll was induced to
come forth, by the promise of her mother's second petticoat,
which was converted into the slip she then wore. She ended
her recital with a merry laugh, and said now she had got service
she would soon get herself clothes. But clothing was one of
the things most diflScult to obtain then. There were very few
sheep in the settlement, and if a settler owned two or three,
they had to be protected with the greatest care, watched by the
children during the day that they might not stray into the
woods, and at night penned near the house in a fold, built very
high, to secure them from the bears and wolves, which could
not always be done.
" There were instances of wolves climbing into pens that they
could not get out of. On these occasions they did not hurt the
sheep, but were found lying down in a corner like a dog,
It is said that the first thought of a wolf on entering a fold is
how he is to get out again ; and if he finds that diflScult, his
heart fails him and he makes little effort.
" Wolves were the pests of the country for many years, and,
even after they were partially expelled by the settlers, they
used to make occasional descents upon the settlements, and
many a farmer that counted his sheep by twenties at nio-ht,
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 241
would be thankful if he could muster half a score in the
morning. It was flax, the pedlar's pack, and buckskins that
the early settlers had to depend upon for clothing when their
first supply was run out. Deerskins were carefully preserved
and dressed, and the men had trowsers-and coats made of them.
Though not very becoming, they were said to be very com-
fortable and strong, and suitable to the work they had to do.
Chopping, logging, and clearing wild lands required strong
clothing.
" One part of the early clearing was always appropriated to
flax, and after the seed was in the ground the culture was
given up to the women. They had to weed, pull and thrash
out the seeds, and then spread it out to rot. When it was in
a proper state for the brake, it was handed over to the men,
who crackled and dressed it. It was again returned to the
women, who spun and wove it, making a strong linen for shirts
and plaid for their own dresses. Almost every thrifty farm-
house had a loom, and both wife and -daughters learnt to weave.
The pedlar's pack supplied their little finery, the pack generally
containing a few pieces of very indifferently printed calicoes
at eight and ten shillings, New York currency, a yard ; a piece
of book-muslin at sixteen and eighteen shillings a yard, and
a piece of check for aprons at a corresponding price ; some
very common shawls and handkerchiefs, white cotton stockings
to match, with two or three pieces of ribbon, tape, needles, pins
and horn combs ; these, with very little variety, used to be the
contents of the pedlar's pack. Opening the pack caused much
more excitement in a family then than the opening of a
fashionable shopkeeper's show-room does at the present day.
"About this time, 1799, a great number of old soldiers, who
had served under and with my father, found their way to the
Long Point Settlement. One of these soldiers had been taken
prisoner with my father at Charleston, and when they were
plundered of everything he managed to conceal a doubloon in
his hair. With this he supplied my father's wants, who was
wounded and suffering. My father now exchanged with him
one of his choice lots, that he might be in the settlement and
near a mill ; and took his location, which was far back in the
woods. My uncle [Joseph Kyerson], and several other half -pay
officers, came from New Brunswick to visit my father. The
VOL. II. — 16
242 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
pleasure of seeing those loved and familar faces, and again
meeting those who had fought the same battles, shared the
same dangers, and endured the same hardships, fatigues, and
privations for seven long years, and had the same hopes and
fears, and the bitter mortification of losing their cause, was
indeed great. How many slumbering feelings such a reunion
awakened ! how many long tales of the past they used to tell,
of both love and war ! Those officers that came from New
Brunswick to visit the country all returned, after a few years,
as settlers. The climate of Canada was much preferable, and
as an agricultural country was very superior. The population
was now becoming so great that the Government thought
it necessary to have all the male population, between the
ages of sixteen and sixty, enrolled in the Militia. My father
was requested to organize a regiment, and to recommend
those whom he thought, from their intelligence, good conduct,
and former service, most entitled to commissions. He was
appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of Militia and Lieutenant of the
County, a situation that was afterwards done away with. This
duty of selecting officers gave rise to the first awkward feelings
that had been exhibited towards him in the settlement. Every
man thought he ought to be a captain at the least, and was
indignant that my father did not appreciate his merits. Some
threatened to stone him ; others, to shoot him. The more mode-
rate declared they would not come to his mill, although there
was no other within seventy miles. John McCall did not care
for my father ; he would be a captain without his assistance.
He built a large open boat and navigated her for several years,
and gloried in the designation of Captain McCall. But, not-
withstanding all opposition, the regiment of militia was formed.
They used to meet one day in the year for company exercise,
and there was a general muster on the 4th of June, the King's
birthday, for a general training. These early trainings pre-
sented a strange mixture. There were a few old officers, with
their fine military bearing, with their guns and remains of old
uniforms ; and the old soldier, from his upright walk and
the way he handled his gun, could easily be distinguished,
though clothed in home-spun and buckskin, with the coarse
straw hat. The early settlers all had guns of some description,
except the very juvenile members, who used to carry canes to
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMKS. 243
represent guns. Those trainings used to be looked forward to
with intense interest by all the boys of the neighbourhood, and
afforded subjects of conversation for the ensuing year. It was
no easy thing in that day to find a level piece of ground that
was tolerably clear from stumps sufficiently large to serve for
their general trainings.
"Amongst the early settlers there were very few who could
afford to hire assistance of any kind. Those that could pay
found it easy to get men as labourers ; but women servants,
unless by mere chance, were not to be had. The native Ameri-
can women would not and will not, even at the present day, go
out to service, although almost any of the other neighbours'
daughters would be glad to go as helps, doing the same work
and eating at the table with their mistress. My father, for
many years, used occasionally to take the head of the table
with his labourers, to show them he was not too proud to eat
with them. My mother was exempt from this, but the help ate
at her table, which was considered a sufficient proof of her
humility. Many of those helps of early days have since
become the wives of squires, captains, majors and colonels of
Militia, and are owners of large properties, and they and their
descendants drive in their own carriages.
" In the summer of 1800 my mother had a very nice help as
nurse. Jenny Decow had been apprenticed to a relative, and,
at the age of eighteen, she received her bed, her cow, and two or
three suits of clothing (those articles it was customary to give
to a bound girl), and was considered legally of age, with the
right to earn her own living as she best could.
" My mother soon discovered that Jenny had a wooer. On
Sunday afternoon, young Daniel McCall made his appearance,
with that peculiar, happy, awkward look that young lads have
when they are ' keeping company,' as it is called. At that time,
when a young man wanted a wife, he looked out for some young
girl whom he thought would be a good help-mate, and, watching
his opportunity, with an awkward bow and blush he would ask
her to give him her company the ensuing Sunday evening.
Her refusal was called ' giving the mitten,' and great was the
laugh against any young man if it was known that he had ' got
the mitten,' as all hopes in that quarter would be at an end.
But young McCall had not got ' the mitten ;' and it was customary
244 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
on those occasions, when the family retired to bed, for the young-
man to get up and quietly put out the candles, and cover the
fire, if any ; then take a seat by the side of his lady-love, and
talk as other lovers do, I suppose, until twelve o'clock, when he
would either take his leave and a walk of miles to his home,
that he might be early at work, or he would lie down for an
hour or two with some of the boys, and then be away before
daylight. Those weekly visits would sometimes continue for
months, until all was ready for marriage. But they did not
always end in matrimony. Sometimes those children of the
woods were gay Lotharios in their way, as well as in more re-
fined society, and it would be discovered that a favourite
Adonis was keeping company with two or three young girls at
the same time, and vice versa with some young coquettes.
But such unprincipled conduct would furnish gossip for a whole
neighbourhood, and be discountenanced by all. Nor must you
for a moment imagine that there was anything wrong in this
system of wooing. It was the custom of the country in an
early day, and I think it is still continued in settlements re-
mote from towns. But the lives of hundreds of estimable
wives and mothers have borne testimony to the purity of their
conduct. When Jenny had been with my mother about six
months, young McCall made his appearance in the middle of the
week, and my father and some visitors commenced bantering
him why he did not marry at once. Why did he spend his
time and wear out his shoes in the way he was doing ? He said
he would go and talk to Jenny, and hear what she said. He
returned in a few minutes and said they would be married. In
an hour afterwards they were man and wife. They married in
their working dresses — he in his buckskin trowsers, and she in
her homespun. She tied up her bundle of clothes, received her
wages, and away they walked to their log-house in the woods.
Thirty years afterwards they used to show me some little articles
that had been purchased with Jenny's wages : and they appeared
to look back upon that time with pleasure. They became rich ;
he was colonel of militia, and some of their descendants are
worth thousands. During their early struggles, Mrs. McCall
was in the field with her husband, pulling liax; when she felt
what she thought was a severe blow on her foot. A rattlesnake
had bitten her. Her husband killed the snake ; vulgar prejudice
CHAP. XLl.] AND THEIR TIMES. 245
thought that, by killing the snake, the poison would be less
severe. He then put his lips to the wound, sucked it, and,
taking her in his arms, carried her to the house. Before he
\ reached it, her foot had swollen and burst. They applied
an Indian remedy, a peculiar kind of plantain, which relieved
her, but she was years before she perfectly recovered from the
effects of the poison. Two children that were born during that
time turned spotted, became sore and died ; but her third child
was strong and healthy, and is still living. These reptiles, that
are now almost unknown in the country, were then plentiful.
They had a den at the mouth of the Grand River, and there was
another at the Falls. For many years the boatmen going up
and down Lake Erie used to stop at the mouth of the Grand
River for an hour or two's sport, killing rattlesnakes. My
father and boat's crew, on one of these occasions, killed seventy.
The oil of the rattlesnake was thought to possess great medicinal
virtues.
" There was a sad want of religious instruction amongst the
early settlers. For many years there was no clergyman nearer
than Niagara, a distance of 100 miles, without roads. My
father used to read the Church Service every Sunday to his
household, and any of the laborers who would attend. As the
country became more settled, the neighbours used to meet at
Mr. Barton's, and Mr. Bostwick, who was the son of a clergy-
man, used to read the service, and sometimes a sermon. But
there were so few copies of sermons to be obtained, that after
reading them over some half-a-dozen times they appeared to
lose their interest. But it was for the children that were grow-
ing up that this want was most severely felt. When the week-
day afforded no amusements, they would seek them on Sunday ;
fishing, shooting, bathing, gathering nuts and berries, and play-
ing ball, occupied, with few exceptions, the summer Sundays.
In winter they spent them in skating, gliding down the hills on
hand sleighs. And yet crime was unknown in those days, as
were locks and bolts. Theft was never heard of, and a kindly,
brotherly feeling existed amongst all. If a deer was killed, a
piece was sent to each neighbour, and they, in turn, used to draw
the stream, giving my father a share of the fish. If anyone
was ill, they were cared for by the neighbours and their wants
attended to. But the emigrant coming to the country in the
246 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
present day can only form a very poor idea of the hardships
endured by the early pioneers of the forest, or the feelings
which their isolated situation drew forth. Education and
station seemed to be lost sight of in the one general wish to be
useful to each other, to make roads and improve the country.
"I think it was in 1802 that I first saw Colonel Talbot, a
distinguished settler, who had a' grant of lands seventy miles
further up the lake, at a place afterwards called Port Talbot,
where he had commenced building mills. People were full of
conjecture as to the cause that could induce a young gentleman
of his family (the Talbots of Malahide) and rank in the army to
bury himself in Canada.
" He and Sir Arthur Wellesley had been at the same time on
the staff of the Duke of Buckingham, when Lord Lieutenant
of Ireland, and it was said the field of glory was equally open
to both. Colonel Talbot afterwards came to this country, and
was on the staff of General Simcoe when he made a tour
through the Upper Province. At that time he selected his
future home. Some said that he left the army in disgust at
not getting an appointment that he felt himself entitled to ;
others, again, said that neither Mars nor Venus presided at his
birth. But one thing was certain : he had chosen a life of
privation and toil, and right manfully he bore the lot he had
chosen. When in the army, he was looked upon as a dandy ;
but my first impressions would place him in a very different
light. He had come to Port E-yei"se with a boat-load of grain to
be ground at my father's mill. The men slept in the boat,
with an awning over it, and had a fire on shore. In front of
this fire, Colonel Talbot was mixing bread in a pail, to be baked
in the ashes for the men. I had never seen a man so employed,
and it made a lasting impression upon my childish memory.
My next recollection of him was his picking a wild goose,
which my father had shot, for my mother to dress for dinner.
Thus commenced an acquaintance which lasted until his death
in 1853.
"My father, on his arrival at Long Point, promised my
mother that if she would remain contented for six years at
Port Ryerse, and give the country a fair trial, if she then dis-
liked it, and wished to return to New York, he would go back
with her — that party feeling would by that time have greatly
CHAP. XLI.J
AND THEIR TIMES,
247
subsided. My mother now claimed my father's promise. He
at once acquiesced, and left it to her to decide when they should
go, my father well knowing that however much my mother
might wish to return, when left to her to decide, her better
judgment would say ' Not yet,' as his improvements must all be
a sacrifice. To sell his property was impossible. My mother
postponed the return for a few years, but could not relinquish
the hope of emerging from the woods, and being once more
within the sound of the church-going bell. My father's pro-
perty was fast improving. He had planted an orchard of
apple, peach, and cherry trees, which he procured from Dr.
Proyer, whose young trees were a year or two in advance of
his own, and he had procured a few sheep which were pastured
in a field immediately in front of the house. But all their
watching could not preserve them from the wolves. If they
escaped by the greatest care for a year or two, and the flock
increased to twenty or thirty, some unlucky day they would
fiod them reduced to ten or a dozen.
" A tree sometimes unobserved would fall across the fence, and
the sheep would stray into the woods, which was fatal to them ;
or, the fastening to their pen would be left just one unlucky
night not secured, and the morning would show a melancholy
remainder of the fine flock that had been folded the night
before. All of these mishaps were serious vexations to the
early settlers. The mill was a constant draw upon my father's
purse. A part of his lands had been sold at a very low price (but
not low at that time) — one dollar the acre — to assist in build-
ing it, and now it had to be kept in repair. The dam breaking,
machinery getting out of order, improvements to be made, bolt-
ing cloths wanted, and a miller to be paid — to meet all this was
the toll, every twelfth bushel that was ground. During the
summer season the mill would be for days without a bushel to
grind, as farmers got their milling done when they could take
their grists to the mill on ox-sleds upon the snow. Few grew
more than sufiicient for their own consumption and that of the
new-coming settler ; but had they grown more, there was no
market, and the price of wheat, until the war of 1812, was
never more than half a dollar a bushel ; maize, buckwheat, and
rye, two shillings (York) a bushel. The flour mill, pecuniarily
speaking, was a great loss to my father. The saw-mill was
248 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
remunerative ; the expense attending it was trifling, its
machinery was simple, and any commonly intelligent man with
a day or two's instruction could attend to it. People brought
logs of pine, oak, and walnut from their own farms, and my
father had half the lumber for sawing; and this, when
seasoned, found a ready sale, not for cash (cash dealings were
almost unknown), but for labour, produce, maple sugar or any-
thing they had to part with which my father might want, or
with which he could pay some of his needy labourers. There
were some wants which were almost unattainable with poor
people, such as nails, glass, tea, and salt. They could only be
procured in Niagara, and cash must be paid for them. There
was not yet a store at Long Point. Great were the advantages
of the half -pay officers and those who had a little money at
their command, and yet their descendants appear not to have
profited by it. It is a common remark in the country that
very many of the sons of half-pay officers were both idle and
dissolute ; but I am happy to say there are many honourable
exceptions. At the head of the list of these stand our present
Chief Justice (Sir John Robinson), and Dr. Ryerson, the Super-
intendent of Education, and many others who deem it an
honour to be descended from an United Empire Loyalist. From
a multiplicity of care, my father had postponed, from time to
time, going to Toronto, or Little York, as it was then called
(where the seat of government had been removed), to secure the
grant of land which had been promised to his family, until
after the departure of his friend General Simcoe, who was
succeeded as Governor by General Hunter.
" When my father made application to General Hunter, he was
told that an order from the Home Government had limited the
grants to the wives and children of the U. E. Loyalists to
200 acres each ; but said that if the Order in Council had
passed for the larger grants, of course my father should have
the lands he had selected ; but he, not foreseeing the change, had
not secured the order, and General Simcoe's verbal promise
could not be acted upon.
" The autumn of 1804 found us still in the oriofinal loo--house
It had been added to and improved, but the stick chimney had
not been replaced by brick, as my father looked forward from
year to year to building a better house in a better situation ;
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 249
but lie found so many improvements actually necessary, and so
much to be done each spring and summer, that although a great
deal of material had been prepared, the house was not yet com-
menced. One fine bright morning, as some visitors were taking
their departure, there Avas an alarm of fire, and, sure enough,
the stick chimney had caught and communicated to the garret,
and in a few minutes the whole of the upper part of the house
was in flames. Our visitors, who had not gone beyond the
threshold, joined with tlie family and labourers in getting out
the furniture as fast as possible. Nearly everything was saved
from the lower part of the house, but all that was in the garret
was lost. The garret had been used as a store-room, and con-
tained cases which had not been unpacked since they came from
New York, but were left until a better house could be built.
These things — linen, bedding, and some nice little articles of
furniture, and various little nicknacks which were prized
beyond their value — were a great loss ; but the greatest loss was
a box or two of books. These were not to be replaced this side
of New York, and to a young family the loss was irreparable.
A part of Pope's works, a copy of Milton's Paradise Lost,
Buchan's Family Medicine, and a Testament with commentaries,
were all that were saved. A small quantity of plate also,
which had not been unpacked, was found in a very unsatisfactory
state. The family took shelter in a house built for and occupied
by the miller and his family, sending them to a smaller tenement.
The situation was airy and beautiful, and, with a few alterations
and improvements, was more comfortable than the first log-house.
This my mother rather regretted, as discomfort would have
hastened the new house. Although allusions were made to
New York, no time had yet been named for their return.
My father used to assure my mother and friends that he would
go as soon as she said the word ; yet these remarks were always
accompanied by a particularly humorous expression of coun-
tenance.
" About this time the London district was separated from the
Western, and composed what now forms the counties or districts
of Middlesex, Elgin, Huron, Bruce, Oxford, and Norfolk. The
necessary appointments were made, and the London district
held its own courts and sessions at Turkey Point, six miles
above us on the lake shore. The people, in a most patriotic
250 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
manner, had put up a log-house, which served the double
purpose of court-house and jail. The courts were held in the
upper story, which was entered by a very rough stairway,
going up on the outside of the building. The jail consisted
of one large room on the ground floor, from which any prisoner
could release himself in half an hour unless guarded by a
sentinel. The juries for some years held their consultations
under the shade of a tree. Doubtless it was pleasanter than
the clos^ lock-up jury-room of the present day. My father,
in addition to his other commissions, was appointed Judge of
the District Court and Judge of the Surrogate Court. Turkey •
Point is a very pretty place ; the grounds are high, and from
them there is a very fine view of the bay and lake. General
Simcoe had selected it for the county town, and the site of
a future city. Now it boasted of one house, an inn kept
by Silas Montross. There was also a reservation of land for
military purposes. But the town never prospered ; it was not
in a thoroughfare, and did not possess water privileges. Twenty
years afterwards it contained but the one solitary house. The
county town was changed to a more favourable situation,
Vittoria. My father's young family now gave him great
anxiety. How they were to be educated was a question not
easily solved. Schools there were none, nor was it possible to
get a tutor. A man of education would not go so far into the
woods for the small inducement which a private family could
ofter.
" Magistrates were not allowed to marry by license, nor could
the parties be called in church, for there were no churches in
the country. The law required that the parties should be
advertised — that is, that the- banns should be written out and
placed in some conspicuous place for three Sundays. The mill
door was the popular place, but the young lads would endeavour
to avoid publicity by putting the banns on the inside of the
door ; others would take two or three witnesses and hold it on
the door for a few minutes for three successive Sundays,
allowing no one but their friends to see it. In many places
marriages used to be solemnized by persons not authorized, and
in a manner that made their legality very doubtful ; but the
Legislature have very wisely passed Acts legalizing all mar-
riages up to a certain date. The marriages that took place at
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 2j]
my father's used to afford a good deal of amusement. Some
very odd couples came to be united. The only fee my father
asked was a kiss from the bride, which he always insisted on
being paid ; and if the bride was at all pretty, he used, with a
mischievous look at my mother, to enlarge upon the pleasure
that this fee gave him, and would go into raptures about the
bride's youth, beauty, and freshness, and declare that it was
the only public duty he performed that he was properly remu-
nerated for.
"Application had several times been made to the Rev. Mr.
Addison, the only clergyman in the country, who was living at
Niagara, entreating him to come to Long Point and baptize the
children. All who had been born there remained unbaptized.
This summer his promised visit was to take place, and was
looked forward to with intense anxiety by both parents and
children. I used to discuss it with my elder brother, and
wonder what this wonderful ceremony of christening could
mean. My mother had explained it as well as she could, but
the mystical washing away of sin with water, to me was
incomprehensible, as was also my being made member of a
Church which was to me unknown. I wondered what God's
minister could be like, and whether he was like my father,
whom I looked up to as the greatest and best of anyone in my
little world. At last Parson Addison arrived, and my curiosity
was satisfied on one point, and in my estimation my father
stood higher than the clergyman.
" The neighbourhood was notified, and all the children, from
one month to eight or nine vears old, were assembled to receive
baptism. The house was crowded with people anxious to hear
the first sermon preached in the Long Point Settlement by an
ordained minister. Upon my own mind I must confess that
the surplice and gown made a much more lasting impression
than the sermon, and I thought Mr. Addison a vastly more
important person in them than out of them ; but upon the
elder part of the community, how many sad and painful feel-
ings did this first sermon awaken, and recall times long past,
friends departed, ties broken, homes deserted, hardships endured !
The cord touched produced many vibrations, as Mr. Addison
shook hands with every individual, and made some kind inquiry
about their present or future welfare. The same God-hopeful
252 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
smile passed over every face, and the same ' Thank you, sir, we
find ourselves every year a little better off, and the country is
improving.' ' If we only had a church and a clergyma.n we
should have but little to complain of.' But it was a hope
deferred for many long years. A Baptist minister, the Rev.
Mr. Finch, was the first clergyman who came to the little settle ■
ment to reside. His meetings were held in different parts of
the settlement each Sunday, so that all might have the oppor-
tunity of hearing him if they chose to attend. He preached
in houses and barns without any reward, labouring on his farm
for his support. He, like all the early Dissenting ministers
who came to the province, was uneducated, but possessed and
sincerely believed a saving knowledge of the Gospel, and in
his humble sphere laboured to do all the good in his power.
Many of the young people joined his Church. He was soon
followed by the Methodists. Too much cannot be said in
praise of the early ministers of these denominations ; they
bore every privation and fatigue, praying and preaching in
every house where the doors were not closed against them —
receiving the smallest pittance for their labour. A married
man received $200 a year and a log -house for his family ; an
unmarried man had half that sum, the greater portion of
which was paid in home-made cloth and produce. Their ser-
mons and prayers were very loud, forcible and energetic, and
if they had been printed verbathn, would have looked a sad
jumble of words. They encouraged an open demonstration of
feeling amongst their hearers — the louder the more satisfac-
tory. But notwithstanding the criticisms cast upon these early
preachers, were they not the class of men who suited their
hearers ? They shared their poverty and entered into all their
feelings ; and although unlearned, they taught the one ti'ue
doctrine — to serve God in spirit and in truth — and their lives
bore testimony to their sincerity. In this world they looked
forward to neither preferment nor reward ; all they expected
or could hope for was a miserable subsistence. Nor was it sur-
prising that in twenty years afterwards, when the path was
made smooth, the church built, and the first clergyman, the
Rev. Mr. Evans, came, that he found a small conofrearation.
Every township had one or two Methodist and Baptist chapels.
I do not recollect one Roman Catholic family in the neighbour-
CHAP. XL! ] AND THEIR TIMES. 253
hood. Although the Long Point Settlement was in existence
thirty years before we had a resident clergyman of the Church
of England, yet I cannot recollect one member who had seceded
from the Church. Many had died, and many communed with
the Methodists, who did not belong to them."
Postscript. — At the author's request, Mrs. Harris, in June,
1879, brought down her recollections to the close of the war of
1812 — 1815. The following pages are the result — written by
Mrs. Harris, twenty years after writing the previous memoranda,
in the eighty-first year of her age, containing some interesting
particulars of the war, and stating the cause of the loss of the
British fleet on Lake Erie, and the disasters which followed.
The author has not seen cause to alter a sentence or a word of
Mrs. Harris's manuscript, written by herself in a clear, bold
hand, notwithstanding her advanced age :
" In 1810 my father showed signs of failing health. A life of
hardship and great exertion was telling upon a naturally strong
constitution. He decided upon resigning all his offices, and his re-
signation was accepted upon this assurance, that from ill-health
he could no longer fulfil the duties they involved. The Hon.
Thomas Talbot was appointed his successor as colonel com-
mandant of the militia, and the late Judge Mitchell succeeded
him as Judge of the District and Surrogate Courts. At this time
there were strong rumours of war between America and
England, and the militia anticipated being called into active
service. At the close of 1811, a large body of the militia which
ray father had organized waited upon him, and urged him to
resume the command, as in him they had confidence. Colonel
Talbot was a stranger amongst them, and lived at a distance.
My father at that time was in the last stage of consumption,
and died in the June following, in 1812, aged sixty years. In
six days after his death war was declared, and then came
troubles to my widowed mother in various shapes. My father
in seventeen years had seen a lonely wilderness changed into a
fruitful country. Most of the original log-houses had given
place to good frame buildings, and the inhabitants generally
seemed prosperous and content. Immediately after the declara-
tion of war, the militia had to do military duty and neglect
their farms. British troops passed through Port Ryerse, on
their way to Amherstburg and Sandwich, and every available
254 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
building was used as. barracks. All merchant vessels were con-
verted into ships of war, and they, with one or two small ships
belonging to the Provincial Navy, were placed under the com-
mand of Captain Barclay, of the Royal Navy ; Captain Finnes,
R. N., was second in command. His ships were all of light ton-
nage ; there were several transports, which were in constant use
conveying troops and army supplies to Sandwich and Amherst-
burg. The lake was clear of enemies, as the Americans were
blockaded within Erie Harbour, where they had two or three
large ships on the stocks. They could not cross the bar at Erie
without lightening their ships and taking out part of their guns.
This they could not do in the presence of Barclay's fleet. When
the weather was too rough for the blockading squadron to re-
main outside the harbour, it was too rough for the American
fleet to get over the bar ; consequently we felt very safe. This
was during the summer of 1813. During this summer General
Brock called out the militia of Norfolk, and asked for volun-
teers to go with him to Detroit ; every man volunteered. He
made his selection of the strong and active young men. Right
gallantly the militia throughout the province behaved during
the three years' war, casting no discredit upon their parentage —
the brave old U. E. Loyalists. During the summer, Captain
Barclay used to have private information — not very reliable, as
the result proved — of what progress the ships were making on
the stocks. He used occasionally to leave the blockade and go
to Amherstburg and come to Ryerse. The Americans took
note of this, and made their plans and preparations for his
doing so. There was a pretty widow of an ofiicer of some rank
in Amherstburg, who was very anxious to go to Toronto.
Captain Barclay offered her a passage in his ship and brought
her to Ryerse, and then escorted her to Dr. Rolph's, where he
and some of his officers remained to dinner the following day.
When they came in sight of Erie, they saw all the American
fleet riding safely at anchor outside the bar. The Americans
had everything in readiness ; and as soon as the watched-for
opportunity came, and the British fleet left the station, they
got their own ships over the bar, their guns in, and all things
ready for defence or attack. They far outnumbered the British
fleet, and were of heavier tonnage. Captain Barclay consulted
hi^ senior officers whether it would be best to come into Long
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 255
Point Bay to winter, where they could get supplies across the
country from Burlington Bay of all the munitions of w^ar, and
leave the ship on the stocks at Amherstburg (the Detroit) to
her fate, as neither the guns to arm nor the men to man
her had yet been forwarded, and now could not unless
by land, which for heavy guns and the munitions of war
was the next thing to an impossibility. It was jvith great
difficulty that food and clothing could be forwarded, where
there was little more than an Indian path and no bridges. The
wisdom of the fleet decided upon going to Amherstburg and
trusting to arming the ships with the guns from the fort, and
manning them with sailors from the fleet, and with soldiers and
volunteers. They landed Captain O'Keefe, of the 41st Regiment,
who was doing marine duty at or near Otter Creek, to And his
way to Ryerse, and to tell the militia commandant that the
whole frontier on Lake Erie was now open to American inva-
sion, the new ship was launched, imperfectly armed and manned ;
and without a sufficient supply of ammunition for the fleet, and
with little more than a day's rations for his men. Commodore
Barclay was necessitated to risk an action. The result is too
well known. Nearly all the officers were killed or severely
wounded. Captain Barclay, who had already lost one arm, was
disabled in the other arm ; but they did not strike their colours
to Commodore Perry's superior force until their ammunition in
some ships was all exhausted, and in others nearly so. No one
could have fought more bravely than Captain Barclay. At the
same time, those who knew of his leaving the blockade could
not help feeling that all the disasters of the upper part of the
province lay at his door. In May of 1814 we had several days
of heavy fog. On the morning of the 13th, as the fog lifted, we
saw seven or eight ships under the American flag anchored ofi"
Byerse, with a number of small boats floating by the side of
each ship. As the fog cleared away they hoisted sail and
dropped down three miles below us, opposite Port Dover. Of
course an invasion was anticipated. Colonel Talbot was then in
Norfolk, and he ordered all the militia to assemble the next
day at Brantford, a distance of thirty miles, which they did
with great reluctance, as many of both officers and men thought
that an efibrt should have been made to prevent the Americans
landing ; but no resistance was offered. On the 14th, the
256 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
Americans burnt the village and mills of Dover; on the 15th,
as my mother and myself were sitting at breakfast, the dogs
kept up a very unusual barking. I went to the door to discover
the cause ; when I looked up, I saw the hill-side and lields, as far
as the eye could reach, covered with American soldiers. They
had marched from Port Dover to Ryerse. Two men stej)ped
from the ranks, selected some large chips, and came into the
room where we were standing, and took coals from the hearth
without speaking a word. My mother knew instinctively what
they were going to do. She went out and asked to see the com-
manding officer. A gentleman rode up to her and said he was
the person she asked for. She entreated him to spare her pro-
perty, and said she was a widow with a young family. He
answered her civilly and respectfully, and expressed his regret
that his orders were to burn, but that he would spare the
house, which he did ; and he said, as a sort of justification of his
burning, that the buildings were used as a barrack, and the mill
furnished flour for British troops. Very soon we saw columns of
dark smoke arise from every building, and of what at early morn
had been a prosperous homestead, at noon there remained only
smouldering ruins. The following day Colonel Talbot and the
militia under his command marched to Port Norfolk (com-
monly known as Turkey Point), six miles above Ryerse. The
Americans were then on their way to their own shores. My
father had been dead less than two years. Little remained of all
Ms labours excepting the orchard and cultivated fields. It
would not be easy to describe my mother's feelings as she looked
at the desolation around her, and thought upon the past and
the present ; but there was no longer a wish to return to New
York. My father's grave was there, and she looked to it as her
resting-place. Not many years since a small church was
built on a plot of ground which my father had reserved for
that purpose ; in the graveyard attached are buried two of the
early settlers — my father and my mother. " A. H."
The writer of the following paper seems to have been
perfectly acquainted with the subject on which he writes,
but is entirely unknown to the author of this history. The
paper appears to have been written shortly after the de-
cease of Colonel Ryerse, and was enclosed to the author on
CHAP. XLl.] AND THEIR TIMES. 257
a printed slip. It throws much light on the history and
character of the times of which it speaks :
" Last of the Old U. E. Loyalists.
" Died, at his residence, near Vittoria, county of Norfolk, on
Wednesday, the 9th of August, 1854, after a short illness
of three days, Colonel Joseph Ryerson (father of the Rev.
Messrs. George, William, John, Egerton, and Edwy Ryerson),
in the ninety-fourth year of his age.
" Colonel Ryerson was born near Paterson, New Jersey,
about fourteen miles from the city of New York, the 28th of
February, 17C1. His ancestors were from Holland ; he was
the seventh son ; he lost his father in childhood. At the break-
ing out of the American revolution, two of the brothers entered
the British army. Samuel (father of Mrs. Harris, Eldon
House, London) was nine years older than Joseph, and was
the first in that part of the country to join the Royal standard.
On arriving at New York, he was informed by the British
commander that if he would raise sixty men he would receive
a captain's connnission. He returned to his native place, and
raised the complement of men in a few days. Joseph, who
was then only fifteen years of age, entered the army the 6th of
May, 1776, as a cadet. He was too small and weak to handle
a musket, and received a light fowling-piece, with which he
learned the military exercise in a few days. In- the course
of a few months an order was received to embody a portion of
these New Jersey volunteers into a corps of Light Infantry, to
go to the South to besiege Charleston. Joseph Ryerson was
one of the 550 volunteers for this campaign. When Colonel
Ennis (the Inspector-General of the troops at New York) came
to Joseph Ryerson, he said, ' You are too young and too small
to go.' The lad replied, ' Oh ! sir, I am growing older and
stouter every day.' The colonel laughed heartily, and said,
' Well, you shall go then.' These Light Infantry volunteers
were attached at difierent times to different regiments ; and
Mr. Ryerson was successively attached to the 37th, 7lst, and
84th Regiments. Such was the hard service performed by
these Light Infantry volunteers, that out of 550 men, rank
and file, exclusive of ofiicers, only eighty-six of them returned,
three years afterwards, after the evacuation of Charleston.
VOL. II. — 17
258 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLL
" The Light Infantry corps having been broken up, the few
remains of the men composing it returned to the regiments out
of which they had volunteered. About eighteen months after
leaving New York, before he was seventeen years of age, Mr.
Ryerson received an ensign's commission, and he was, in the
course of a year, promoted to a lieutenancy in the Prince of
Wales' Regiment. His first commission was given him as the
immediate reward of the courage and skill he displayed as the
bearer of special despatches from Charleston, 196 miles into the
interior, in the course of which he experienced several hair-
breadth escapes. He was promoted to his lieutenancy for the
manner in which he acquitted himself as the bearer of special
despatches by sea to the north, having eluded the enemy in
successive attacks and pursuits. He was in six battles, besides
several skirmishes, and was once wounded. At the close of the
war in 1783, he, with his brother Samuel, and many other
Loyalists and discharged half-pay officers and soldiers, went
to New Brunswick, where he married in 1784, and settled and
resided in Majorville, on the River St. John, near Fredericton,
in 1799, when he removed to Upper Canada and settled in
Charlotteville, near his brother — they both having drawn land
from the Government for their services.
" While in New Brunswick he was appointed captain of
militia; on his arrival in Canada he was appointed major,
and a few years afterwards colonel. On the organization of
London district in 1800 (including the recent districts of
Talbot, London, Brock, and Huron), he was appointed high
sheriff — an office which he resigned, after a few years, in
favour of his son-in-law, the late Colonel Bostwick, of Port
Stanley.
"During the late war with the United States, in 1812, Colonel
Ryerson and his three eldest sons took an active part in the
defence of the country. He was for many years a magistrate
and Chairman of the Quarter Sessions ; but he would never
accept of any fees as a magistrate.
" Some ten years since he resigned whatever offices he held.
In 1850 he lost his wife, aged eighty-four years — a woman of
sound understanding and rare excellence. He continued healthy
and vigorous to the last — having the Friday before his decease
rode several miles, and walked from Vittoria to his own house
CHAP. XL[.] AND THEIR TIMES. 259
— a distance of nearly two miles — after which he conversed with
much animation and cheerfulness.
" Shortly after his attack on Sunday night, he expressed his
belief that he should not recover, and stated his entire trust
in God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, in whom he felt that
he had good hope of eternal life.
" His funeral was attended by a large concourse of people —
especially of the old inhabitants. Six of his old neighbours
acted as pall-bearers — namely, Colonel Potts, F. Walsh, Aquilla
Walsh, Abner Owen, Joseph Culver, and S. Ellis, Esquires —
whose joint ages amounted to almost 400 years. The Scripture
lesson was read, and prayers offered up at the house by the Rev,
Mr. Clement, Wesleyan minister ; and the service was read at
the grave by the Rev. George Salmon (an old friend of the
family), in the absence of the Rev. Mr. Evans, rector of Wood-
house, to the erection of the church of which rectory Colonel
Ryerson had been the largest contributor.
" Colonel Ryerson is probably the last of the old United
Empire Loyalists in Canada who joined the British army in
1776 — a race of men remarkable for longevity and energy, and
a noble enthusiasm for British institutions."*
Interesting piece of Local History by the Rev. Dr. Scadding.
" Niagara, Aug. 3rd, 1861.
"Dear Sir, —
" I have deferred acknowledging the circular announcing your
intended work on the U. E. forefathers of the Canadian people,
until now, from not having had before a moment of leisure to
prepare the contribution which I intended to offer for your
acceptance and use. I only hope that my delay may not have
rendered the communication too late.
* Dr. Canniff, in his excellent " History of the Settlement of Upper
Canada," with special reference to Bay Quints, has the following respect-
ing Colonel Ryerson, who commanded a company and was called captain,
though not yet gazetted :
" One of Captain Joseph Ryerson's old comrades, Peter Redner, of the
Bay Quints, says : ' He was a man of daring intrepidity, and a great favourite
in his company.' He represented Captain Ryerson as one of the most
determined men he ever knew. With the service of his country uppermost
in his mind, he often exposed himseK to great danger to accomplish his
desires." (p. 119.)
260 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLl.
" Such a work as that which you propose to bring out is a
desideratum, and cannot fail to be interesting, and increasingly
so as years roll on. I am glad that you have been moved to
this undertakino;, as I feel sure that it will be executed with
vigour and thoroughness, in a patriotic spirit, and with a real
affection. Our neighbours in the United States have long since
seen the propriety of collecting and permanently recording the
otherwise rapidly evanescent memorials of their past. The
volumes put forth by their Historical Societies- and State Gov-
ernment and by individuals amongst them, on this subject,
possess extraordinary interest not only for United States' citizens,
but also for the general reader, and particularly for the inhabi-
tants of the existing British North American Colonies. I have
often wished that we could have for Canada some such publica-
tion as Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution, to preserve for
the eye, by woodcuts worked into the text, sketches and plans
of historic places and buildings as they were in their primitive
state — objects which, in a country like this, from the perishing
nature of materials in many instances, from the levelling of
streets, straightening of roads, railway excavations, esplanades,
building and other processes and causes, are being so rapidly
obliterated.
" As you invite information in regard to early settlers
generally, I have thought it simply a duty to send some
memoranda — which I hope may be deemed not unworthy of
use — respecting my father, whom I have supposed you might,
perhaps, find an occasion of noticing in connection with a men-
tion of Whitby, in a note or otherwise.
" I am, dear Sir,
" Very truly yours,
"H. SCADDING.
" The Rev. Dr. Ryerson."
" This town was, at its commencement, about the year 1819,
named Windsor, by its projector, Mr. John Scadding, the original
grantee of a thousand acres in this locality. On a natural
harbour of Lake Ontario, popularly known as ' Big Bay,' Mr. S.
laid out the town, built the first house, and named the streets,
three of fchem, after his three sons — John, Charles, and Henry.
The appellation 'Windsor' had no reference to the world-re-
nowned royal residence, but to a very humble property so
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 261
designated, once possessed by Mr. S. in the parish of Luppitt, in
Devonshire, from which neighbourhood, viz., Dunkeswell, he
first emigrated to Upper Canada in 1793. Before this trans-
plantation, his family, with numerous kith and kin, had had their
home in these old Wessex regions for many a generation. Local
registries, tombstones, and other records constantly exhibit the
name, which will also be found in the minute Ordnance maps of
England, attached to a small hamlet in the vicinity of Wel-
lington, in the closely adjoining county of Somerset. Through
the instrumentality of Governor Simcoe, to whom he was per-
sonally and in the most friendly manner known in Devonshire
before his emigration, Mr. S. was also the owner and first
cultivator of a section of land watered through its whole lencjth
by the River Don, from the second concession to the lake's
edge, in the township of York. It was while putting off
trespassers on a portion of this last-mentioned property, which
is now to a great extent included within the limits of the city of
Toronto, but which was at the time, for the most part, in its
primitive natural state, that he was, at the age of seventy,
unfortunately killed by the falling of a tree in 1824. His
widow, Mrs. Melicent Scadding, survived until 1860, attaining
the age of ninety-three years. In 1854, the town of Windsor
was incorporated by the Act of Parliament 18 Vic, c. 28, on
which occasion its name was changed to ' Whitby,' ambiguities
and inconveniences having arisen from the existence of another
Windsor on the Detroit river."
Loyalty and Sufferings of the Hon. John Munroe, of Fowlis.
"Born in Scotland, in 1731; came to America in 1756;
married in Albany Miss Brower, of Schenectady, in 17G0 ; lived
at Matilda, U.C, and died at Dickenson's Landing in October,
1800, aged sixty-nine.
"During the revolutionary war he resided near Fort Ben-
nington, where, he possessed considerable property, which was
confiscated by the United States' Government. He was captain
in Sir John Johnston's regiment, and his son Hugh was a lieu-
tenant. The appended certificates state his services, sufferings
and merits."
The above summary statement, and the following certificates,
were enclosed to the writer of this history several years since
262 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI,
by a son of Captain Munroe, who held several situations in
Upper Canada, such as judge, sheriff, etc.
Brigadier-General Allen Macleans Certificate.
" I do hereby certify that the bearer hereof, Captain Munroe,
was the first man that joined me at New York, on the 3rd of
June, 1775, to take up arms in defence of his King and country,
and that he was of infinite service to me at that time. That
durino- the time I was enoaged at Boston he remained in and
about New York, till my return, when he gave me every infor-
mation in respect to the danger of my being taken prisoner ;
in consequence of which I divested myself of every military
appearance, and secured my papers, etc., on board the Asia^ man-
of-war, and at the risk of his life he conducted me upwards
of 200 miles through the province of New York to a gentle-
man's house near Schenectady, whose son conducted me up the
Mohawk river, on my journey to Canada by way of Oswego,
the communication on all other places being shut up. I do
also certify that Captain Munroe did engage a great number of
men to serve his Majesty against the rebels, and that an infor-
mation was lodged against him on that account, and was taken
up and tried ; that though many of the men were never able
to join the King's troops in Canada, yet numbers joined Sir
John Johnston's regiment, and others joined the 84th, under
my command ; and that in defiance of all the hardships, diffi-
culties, and dangers he was exposed to, he has ever adhered
to the same loyal principles, notwithstanding he was eighteen
months a close prisoner, mostly in irons ; that he made his
escape from prison in Albany ; was unfortunately retaken and
confined at Esopsus, on the Hudson river, and would infallibly
have been hanged (his sentence having been pronounced) had
he not made his escape ; that I am acquainted with Mrs.
Munroe and her family of eight children, which has hitherto
been brought up in a genteel sphere of life; and that I always
understood Captain Munroe to be a gentleman of considerable
property in the province of New York, and as an officer always
behaved with becoming spirit and resolution.
"Allen Maclean,
" Late Brigadier-General in Canada."
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 263
Captain Duncan Campbell's Certificate, Late of the 84-th
Regiment.
" I do hereby certify, that I have been well acquainted with
Captain John Munroe, late of the King's Regiment, of New York,
for many years, while he followed the mercantile way of
business in America's last war, and ever since ; that he always
bore the character of an honest and respectable gentleman
amongst his numerous acquaintances. I also knew him to be
a zealous friend to the interest of his King and country, and
that he and his family have suffered the greatest cruelties by
the rebels, and the loss of all his property. I also know that
he laid a permanent foundation for his family in the province
of New York by his indefatigable industry ; that I have been
different times at his last place of abode, where I have seen
most part of the improvements he had made, though at that
time in a manner beginning, where he had an excellent dwell-
ing-house, a saw and grist mills, with other improvements,
" That I know him to have a very large family, and a thriv-
ing and growing property in the county of Albany, and province
of New York.
" Duncan Campbell,
" Late Captain of the 84th Regiment.
" No. 8 Fley Market, St. James."
General Tryons Certificate.
" I do certify that I know Captain Munroe, during the time
that I was Governor of the Province of New York, to be an
active magistrate ; that in the year 1776, at the period I was on
board the Duchess of Gordon, he came from his place of abode,
two hundred miles through the rebel posts, on the Hudson
river, and with difficulty got on board, when he informed me of
several particulars relative to the situation of the rebel armies,
and the preparations they were making for defence in the
highlands.
" He also communicated to me his distress for want of money
to pay the recruits he had engaged for General Maclean's regi-
ment, on which I advanced him such a sum as he thought he
could carry with safety. About that time a packet arrived
from England, which brought dispatches for the Bishop of
Quebec. These I requested he would take charge of, and for-
264 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
ward them with diligence and secrecy. To facilitate this
business, I offered him fifty pounds to defray the expense there-
of. He took charge of the dispatches, which I heard were
safely delivered, though he declined accepting the fifty pounds.
Such conduct, and his indefatigable diligence to forward his
Majesty's service, merits the attention of Government, particu-
arly as he has lost his property and suffered' imprisonment in
the royal cause.
"Wm. Tryon,
"Upper Grosvenor St., 14th February, 1785."
SUFFERINGS OF THE U. E. LOYALISTS DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY
WAR — VINDICATION OF THEIR CHARACTER — THEIR PRIVA-
TIONS AND SETTLEMENT IN CANADA.
A Letter from the late Mrs. Elizabeth Bowman Spohn, of
Ancaster, County of Wentworth, dated July Srd, 1861,
together with an Introductory Letter by the Writer of this
History, dated February 15, 1875.
" To the Editor of the Christian Guardian.
" My Dear Sir, —
" At the request of the family, I have prepared, and I send
you herewith, a brief obituary notice of Mrs. Elizabeth Bow-
man Spohn, only child of the honoured and widely-known late
Peter and Elizabeth Bowman, near the village of Ancaster, in
the county of Wentworth.
" I here subjoin for publication a remarkable letter which
I received from Mrs. Spohn in 1861, in answer to a circular
which I sent out to the United Empire Loyalists of Canada
and their descendants, to procure information and testimonies
from themselves as to their early history and settlement in this
country.
" I had long been impressed with the injustice done to the
character and acts of our Canadian forefathers by the partial
and often unfounded statements of American historians and
utter neglect of English historians. I had, in accordance with
my own strong convictions and in compliance with many
■solicitations, determined to attempt an act of justice and grati-
tude to that noble generation of men and women. I have been
favoured with a large number of letters similar to that which
follows, and which will form an interesting Appendix of in-
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 265
formation and testimony to any history which may he written
of them. I have not been able to complete my task ; but if my
life and strength be spared, and if I can be released from
official labours which weigh so heavily upon my time and
strength, I shall be able to complete what I have undertaken
and long prosecuted, namely, contribute something to settle
many unsettled and disputed facts of American and Canadian
history, and to do, at least, a modicum of justice to a Canadian
ancestry whose heroic deeds and unswerving Christian patriot-
ism form a patent of nobility more to be valued by their
descendants than the coronets of many modern noblemen.
" The following letter is founded on the testimony of those
whcJ were incapable of knowingly perverting the truth in any
particular, and tends to prove and illustrate, by its artless state-
ments, the true disinterested loyalty and Christian patriotism
of those who adhered to British connection in the American
revolution ; their cruel treatment from the professed friends of
liberty ; their privations, sufferings, courage, and industry in
settling this country ; or who, as it is beautifully expressed in
the following letter, ' with their hoes planted the germ of its
future greatness.'
" Yours very faithfully,
" E. Rterson.
"Toronto, February 15, 1875."
" Ancaster, July 28rd, 1861.
" Rev. and Dear Sir, —
" I have long wished some person would give the world
a true history of that much-traduced and suifering people, the
U. E. Loyalists ; and I assure you that when yoiir circular
came I was greatly rejoiced to learn that they would at least
get justice from such an able source as yourself ; and if the
plain narrative of the sufferings of my forefathers will assist
you in the least in your arduous and praiseworthy undertaking,
I will be exceedingl}' gratified.
" ^y great-grandfather emigrated from Germany in the
reign of Queen Anne. He settled near the Mohawk river,
at a creek that still bears his name (Bowman's Creek). My
grandfather, Jacob Bowman, joined the British army in the
French war ; at the conclusion of peace he was awarded 1,500
266 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLI.
acres of land on the Snsqnehanna river, where he made im-
provements until the revolutionary war broke out. The delicate
state of my grandmother obliged him to remain at home,
while nearly all that remained firm to their allegiance left for
the British army.
" He was surprised at night, while his wife was sick, by
a party of rebels, and with his eldest son, a lad of sixteen years
of age, was taken prisoner ; his house pillaged of every article
except the bed on which his sick wife lay, and that they
stripped of all but one blanket. Half an hour after my grand-
father was marched off, his youngest child was born. This was
in November. There my grandmother was, with an infant
babe and six children, at the commencement of winter, without
any provisions, and only one blanket in the house. Their
cattle and grain were all taken away.
" My father, Peter Bowman, the eldest son at home, was only
eleven years old. As the pillage was at night, he had neither
coat nor shoes ; he had to cut and draw his firewood half a mile
on a hand-sleigh to keep his sick mother from freezing ; this he
did barefooted. The whole family would have perished had it
not been for some friendly Indians that brought them provi-
sions. One gave my father a blanket, coat and a pair of mocas-
sins. A kind squaw doctored my grandmother, but she suffered
so much through want and anxiety that it was not until
spring that she was able to do anything. She then took
her children and went to the Mohawk river, where they
planted corn and potatoes ; and in the fall the commander of
the British forces at Niagara, hearing of their destitute situa-
tion, sent a party with some Indians to bring them in. They
brought in five families : the Nellises, Secords, Youngs, Bucks,
and our own family (Bowman), five women and thirty-one
children, and only one pair of shoes among them all. They
arrived at Fort George on the 3rd of November, 1776 ; from
there they were sent first to Montreal, and then to Quebec,
where the Government took care of them — that is, gave them
something to eat and barracks to sleep in. My grandmother
was exposed to cold and damp so much that she took the
rheumatism, and never recovered.
"In the spring of 1777 my father joined Butler's Rangers,
CHAP. XLI.l AND THEIR TIMES 267
«
and was with Colonel Butler in all his campaigns. His brother,
only nine years old, went as a fif er.
" But to return to my grandfather, Jacob Bowman : his
captors took him and his son to Philadelphia, where he was
confined in jail eighteen months. An exchange of prisoners
then took place, and they were sent to New York ; from there
he, with his son and Philip Buck, started for their homes, not
knowing that these homes they never would see again, and that
their families were far away in the wilds of Canada. The
third evening after they started for their homes, they came
to a pond, and shot some ducks for their supper. The report
of their guns was heard by some American scouts, who con-
cealed themselves until our poor fellows were asleep, when they
came stealthily up and fired. Six shots took effect on my
uncle, as he lay with his hat over his ear. Five balls went
through it, and one through his thigh. My grandfather and
Buck lay on the opposite side of the fire. They sprang into the
bushes, but when they heard the groans of my uncle, grand-
father returned and gave himself up. Buck made his escape.
They then marched off", carrying the wounded boy with them.
" They were taken to the nearest American station, where
grandfather was allowed the privilege of taking care of his
wounded son. As he began to recover, grandfather was again
ordered to abjure the British Government, which he steadfastly
refused to do. He was then taken to Lancaster jail, with Mr.
Hoover. They were there fastened together by a band of iron
around their arms, and a chain with three links around their
ankles, the weight of which was ninety-six pounds ; and then
fastened by a ring and staple to the floor. In that condition
they remained either three years and a half or four years and
a half, until the flesh was worn away and the bones laid bare
four inches.
" Men, women, and children all went to work, clearing land.
There were none to make improvements in Canada then but
the U. E. Loyalists, and they, with their hoes, planted the germ
of its future greatness. About this time, my father with his
brother returned from the army ; they helped their father two
years, and then took up land for themselves near Fort Erie.
" My father married the daughter of a Loyalist from Hudson,
North River (Mr. Frederick Lampman) ; he was too old to serve
268 THE LOYALISTS OF iMERICA [CHAP. XLL
in the war, but his four sons and two sons in-law did. They
were greatly harassed, but they hid in the cellars and bushes
for three months, the rebels hunting them night and day. At
length an opportunity offered, and they made their escape to
Long Island, where they joined the British army. One of his
sons, Wilhelmus Lampman, returning home to see h^s family,
was caught by the rebels within a short distance of his father's
house, and hanged, because, as they said, he was a Tory.
"At the restoration of peace, the whole family came to
Canada. They brought their horses and cattle with them,
which helped to supply the new country. They settled in the
township of Stamford, where their descendants are yet.
" My father settled on his land near the fort ; he drew an
axe and a hoe from Government. He bought a yoke of year-
ling steers ; this was the amount of his farming utensils.
Mother had a cow, bed, six plates, three knives, and a few other
articles. It was the scarce year, on account of the rush of
Loyalists from the States, who had heard that Canada was a
good country, where they could live under their own loved
institutions, and enjoy the protection of England.
" The amount of grain that the U. E. Loyalists had raised
was hardly sufficient for themselves ; still they divided with
the new comers, as all were alike destitute. After planting
corn and potatoes, they had nothing left. My father cleared
two acres, on which he planted corn, potatoes, oats, and flax ;
his calves were not able to work, and he had to carry all the
rails on his shoulders until the skin was worn off them both.
This was the way he made his first fence. In the beginning of
May [1789], their provisions failed ; none to be had ; Govern-
ment promised assistance, still none came. All eyes turned
toward their harvest, which was more than three months away ;
their only resource was the leaves of trees. Some hunted
ground nuts ; many lived on herbs ; those that were near the
river, on fish. My father used to work until near sun-down,
then walk three miles to the river, get light wood, fish all night,
in the morning divide the fish, carry his share home on his
back, which they ate without bread or salt. This he did twice
a week, until the middle of June, when the moss became so
thick in the river that they could not see a fish; still they
worked on, and hoped on every day. My father chopped the
CHAP. XLI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 269
logs and they had milk for their breakfast, then went to work
until noon ; took their dinner on milk ; to work again till night,
and supped on milk. I have frequently heard my mother say
she never was discouraged or discontented ; thankful they were
that they could eat their morsel in peace.
" Their only crime was loyalty to. the Government which they
had sworn fealty to. The God of Heaven saw all this, and
the sword of vengeance is now, in 1861, drawn over the
American people (now they know how to appreciate loyalty),
and will perhaps never be sheatlied again until they make some
restitution for the unheard-of cruelties they inflicted upon
those most brave and loyal people.
" At the close of the war they were liberated. Grandfather
was sent to the hospital for nearly a year, but his leg never got
entirely well. As soon as he was able to walk, he sent for his
family (it had been eight years since he saw them) : they had
suffered everything but death. Coming in the boats from
Quebec, they got out of provisions and were near starving. He
never had his family all together again. He drew land near
the Falls of Niagara, where he went to work in the woods,
broken down with suffering, worn out with age ; his property
destroyed, his land confiscated, and his family scattered ; with-
out money or means, and worse than all, without provisions.
Still, to work they went with willing hands and cheerful hearts,
and often did he say he never felt inclined to murmur. He had
done his duty to God and his country ; his own and his family's
sufferings he could not help. Theirs was not a solitary case ;
all the Loyalists suffered. The Government found seed to plant
and sow the first year ; they gave them axes and hoes, and
promised them provisions. How far that promise was fulfilled,
you well know ; they got very little ; they soon found that they
had to provide for themselves.
"As soon as the wheat was large enough to rub out, they
boiled it, which to them was a great treat. Providence f avovired
them with an early harvest ; their sufferings were over, and not
one had starved to death. They now had enough, and they
were thankful. Heaven smiled, and in a few years they had
an abundance for themselves and others.
" I have no memorandum to refer to. I have just related the
tale I have often heard my parents tell, without any exaggera-
270 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLL
tion, but with many omissions. I have not told you about my
father's sufferings in the army, when, upon an expedition near
Little Miamac, he and some others were left to carry the
wounded. They got out of provisions : went three days with-
out anything to eat, except one pigeon between nine. I will
give you his own words. He says : ' The first day we came to
where an Indian's old pack-horse had mired in the mud ; it
had lain there ten days in the heat of summer ; the smell was
dreadful ; still some of our men cut out slices, roasted and ate
it ; I was not hungry enough. The next day I shot a pigeon,
which made a dinner for nine ; after that we found the skin of
a deer, from the knee to the hoof. This we divided and ate. I
would willingly, had I possessed it, have given my hat full of
gold for a piece of bread as large as my hand. Often did I
think of the milk and swill I had seen left in my father's hog-
trough, and thought if I only had that I would be satisfied.'
" Such were some of the sufferings of my forefathers for
supremacy. They have gone to their reward. Peace to their
ashes !
" Yours, respectfully,
" Dr. E. Ryerson." " Elizabeth Bowman Spohn.
" P. S. — One thing more I must add : My father always said
there never was any cruelty inflicted upon either man, woman
or child by Butler's Rangers, that he ever heard of, during the
war. They did everything in their power to get the Indians
to bring their prisoners in for redemption, and urged them to
treat them kindly ; the ofiicers always telling them that it was
more brave to take a prisoner than to kill him, and that none
but a coward would kill a prisoner ; that brave soldiers were
always kind to women and children. He said it was false that
they gave a bounty for scalps. True, the Indians did commit
cruelties, but they were not countenanced in the least by the
whites. " E. S."
"N. B. — To this last statement of Mrs. Spohn's it may be
added that it is also true that the Indians were first employed
by the Revolutionists against the Loyalists, before they were
employed by the latter against the former. The attempt to
enlist the Indians in the contest was first made by the Revolu-
tionists. Of this the most conclusive evidence can be adduced.
"E. R."
CHAP. XLII.] AND THE ill TIMES. 271
CHAPTER XLII.
Governments of the British Provinces — Nova Scotia.
To the painful narrative given of the banishment of the
Loyalists, and confiscation of their property, at the close of the
revolutionary war, and their settlement in the British provinces
of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Lower and Upper Canada,
so fully detailed in the preceding pages, it is proper to add some
account of the Provincial Governments.
Nova Scotia is the oldest of the present British American
Provinces. This territory had the general appellation of New
France, or Acadia, and comprehended, until 1784, New Bruns-
wick and Cape Breton. It was originally regarded as a part of
Cabot's discovery of Terra Nova, and as such claimed by the
English Government, and was afterwards comprehended within
the boundary of a large portion of America, called North
Virginia. In the wars between France and England this
country changed masters several times ; but in 1710 Nova
Scotia was again re-conquered by the forces of her Britannic
Majesty Queen Anne, sent from New England, under the com-
mand of General Nicholson ; and by the Treaty of Utrecht, in
1712, it was finally ceded and secured to Great Britain, and has
ever since continued in her possession.*
" There were originally three sorts of government established
by the English on the continent of America : Charter Govern-
ments, such as those of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and
Connecticut ; Proprietary Governments, as Pennsylvania and
* General Description of Nova Scotia. Printed at the Royal Canadian
School, 1825, p. 13.
272 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLII.
Maryland ; and Royal Government, as Nova Scotia. A Royal
Government is immediately dependent upon the Crown, and
the King appoints the Governor and officers of State, and the
people only elect the representatives, as in England."*
" Peace was declared between France and England the 8th of
November, 1762; and by the treaty which followed, all the
French possessions in Canada, with Nova Scotia, Cape Breton,
and the islands in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, were ceded to
Great Britain. In the year 1764, the Island of St. John, named
Prince Edwai'd Island in 1799, in honour of the Duke of Kent,
was annexed to Nova Scotia.
" Of Acadia, and accordingly of Nova Scotia, during its early
government by the English, the province now known as New
Brunswick formed a part, and to the colony was added, in 1758.
the Island of Cape Breton, then finally taken from the French,
In the same year the military rule which had prevailed was
exchanged for a regular Constitution, in which a Governor,
representing the British Crown, presided over a Legislative
Council and a House of Assembly modelled to some extent from
the two estates of the English Parliament."-f-
* General Description of Nova Scotia, p. 17.
t Bourne's Our Colonies and Emigration, pp. 100, 101.
" The proclamation inviting emigrants to Nova Scotia guaranteed them the
same form of government and rights as the other colonies ; but owing to alleged
difficulties in the way of electing an Assemblj', no Assembly was chosen,
and laws were made and the afl'airs of the colony were administered by the
Governor and Council, until Chief Justice Belcher raised the question in
1755, in a letter to the Lords of Trade, as to the constitutionality of several
laws passed by the Governor and Council without the endorsement of a
representative Assembly. The question was referred to the Attorney and
Solicitor-General of England, who decided that the Governor and Council
alone had not the right to make laws, and that any laws so made were un-
constitutional. The Lords of Trade advised the Governor (Lawrence) to
convene an Assembly without delay, but he objected to it as needless and
impracticable ; when the Lord of Trade replied sharply, that " he knew
their desires on the subject; and as he did not seem disposed to gratify them,
they were obliged to order him to do so ; adding, that they knew that many
had left the province and gone to other colonies on account of the discontent
at the delay of calling an Assembly."
In obedience to these instructions, Governor Lawrence brought the subject
before his Council the 20th of May, 1758, and a resolution (prepared by
Chief Justice Belcher the year before) was passed, to the efi'ect " That a
CHAP. XLII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 273
The first Assembly of Nova Scotia met on the 7th of Octo-
ber, 1758, at Halifax, and elected Robert vSanderson as Speaker.
A number of laws passed by the Governor and Council were
passed with slight alterations ; and the Assembly, on the ques-
tion being put whether any money should be paid them for
their services, unanimously resolved that the members should
serve without any remuneration that session. (This was re-
pealed by the members of the next elected Assembly.) The
usual Speech from the Throne was made, and a complimentary
address was moved in reply ; and the Governor and his new
Assembly got on better together than he had expected.*
" On October 19th, 1700, Governor Lawrence died from in-
flammation of the lungs, brought on by a cold taken at a ball
Honse of Representatives of the inhabitants of this province be a civil
Legislature thereof, in conjunction with the Governor for the time being,
and the CouncO. ; that the first House shall be known as the General
Assembly, and shall consist of sixteen members, to be elected by the province
at large — four by the township of Halifax, and two by the township of
Liinenburg; and that as soon as any other township which might be erected
had fifty electors (freeholders), it should be entitled to elect two representa-
tives to the Assembly, as well as having the right of voting for representa-
tives for the Province at large. Eleven members besides the Speaker were
to form a quorum." (Tuttle's History of the Dominion of Canada, Chap, li.,
pp. 238, 239.)
* lb., p. 239.
"' Lawrence was an active and able officer, and paid great attention to
developing the resources of the province and promoting the welfare of the
people. He opposed the Government scheme of making the colony a military
settlement, and was permitted to invite a more desirable class of emigrants,
farmers, mechanics, etc. A proclamation was issued, and inquiry soon fol-
lowed as to the inducements offered to settlers. The terms were liberal.
The townships were laid out at twelve miles square, or one hundred
thousand acres each ; and each settler was entitled to one hundred acres for
himself, and fifty acres for every member of his family, on condition that he
cultivated the land within thirty years ; and each township was to have the
right to send two members to the Legislature as soon as it contained fifty
families. Agents from parties in Connecticut and Ehode Island visited
Halifax in 1759, with a view to emigration, and selected Minas, Chignecto,
and Cobequid, which had formerly been settled by the Acadians, as sites for
townships. Emigration soon set in steadily towards the province ; six
vessels, with two hundred settlers, arrived from Boston ; four schooners,
with one hvmdred, came from Rhode Island ; New London and Plymo\ith
furnished two hundred and eighty ; and three hundred came from Ireland,
under the management of Alexander McNutt." — Ih.
VOL. II. — 18
274 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLIl.
at the Government House. He was deeply mourned by the
colony, and his loss was severely felt. He was accorded a public
funeral, and the Legislature caused a monument to be erected
to his memory in St. Paul's Church, Halifax, as a mark of their
sense of the many important services he had rendered the
province. He was a wise and impartial administrator, and
zealous and indefatigable in his endeavours for the public
good ; even his opposition to calling a General Assembly made
him few enemies, and his strongest opponent in the matter,
Chief Justice Belcher, who succeeded him in the administra-
tion, remained on good terms with him."*
In the same month that Governor Lawrence died, occurred
the death of George the Second, in consequence of which the
first House of Assembly of Nova Scotia was dissolved, and a
new election, with some changes in the electoral districts, took
place. The first meeting of the new Assembly was held the
1st of July, 1761, and the members of the House again
agreed to give their services gratuitously. From the death of
Governor Lawrence to the close of the American Revolution in
1783, there were ten governors and lieutenant-governors of
Nova Scotia, under whose administration the colony was quiet
and prosperous, though there was little increase in the popula-
tion (until the influx of the U. E. Loyalists), and domestic
manufactures were discourao-ed in the interests of Enarlish
manufacfcurers.-f-
Down to the year 1783, at the close of the American revolu-
tionary war, the population of Nova Scotia amounted to only a
few thousand ; but in the following year, by the forced exodus
* Tattle's History of the Dominion of Canada, Chap, li., p. 239.
t Governor Francklin wrote to the Earl of Shelburne, in 1766, that " The
country, in general, work up for their own use, into stockings and a stuff
called homespun, what little wool their few sheep produce ; and they also
make part of their coarse linen from the flax they produce." — " I cannot omit
representing to your lordship on this occasion, that this Government has at
no time given encouragement to manufactures which could interfere with those
of Great Britain, nor has there been the least appearance of any association
of private persons for that purpose." — " It may be also proper to observe to
your lordship, that all the inhabitants in this colony are employed either in
husbandry, fishing, or providing lumber ; and that all the manufactures
for their clothing, and the utensils for farming and fishing, are made in
Great Britain." (Tuttle, Chap. Ixvi., p. 325.)
CHAP. XLII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 275
of the Loyalists from the United States, the population more
than doubled. " Even before hostilities began, a number of loyal
families emigrated from Boston, and settled on the River St.
John, founding the town of Parrtown, now St John, N. B.
They found the climate and soil both much better than they
had expected ; and the colony soon began to thrive apace.
Settlements were made at Oromocto, where a fort was built,
and one bold explorer penetrated as far as the present site of
Fredericton, and cleared a farm there for himself. These
emigrants numbered about 500, and the district they settled in
was made the county of Sunbury. This, however, was only
the advance guard of the immense army of emigrants which
was to be attracted to the colony at the close of the war, and
which was destined to play so important a part in the history of
the Maritime Province. The exodus of the Loyalists from New
England commenced immediately after the opening of negotia-
tions for peace in November, 1782 ; for so bitter was the action
of the different State Legislatures against them that Sir Guy
Carleton (afterwards Lord Dorchester) could not await the
action of Parliament, but took upon himself tt) commence their
removal to Nova Scotia. On the 18th of May, 1783, the ships
bearing the first instalment of Loyalist emigrants arrived at
Navy Island, and during the summer they continued to arrive,
until about 5,000 had settled between Parrtown (St. John) and
St. Anne's. The peninsula now occupied by the city of St.
John was then almost a wilderness, covered with shrubs,
scrubby spruce, and marsh. Large numbers of emigrants also
arrived at Annapolis, Port Roseway, and other points ; and
Governor Parr, in a letter to Lord North in September, 1783,
estimates the whole number that had arrived in Nova Scotia
and the island of St. John (Prince Edward's Island) at 13,000.
" These emigrants included all classes — disbanded soldiers,
lawyers, clergymen, merchants, farmers, and mechanics ; all in
indigent circumstances, but willing to build up their own
fortunes, and those of the land of their adoption, by honest
labour and industry."*
* Tuttle's History of tbe Domiuion of Canada, Chap. Ixvi., p. 327.
" The Loyalists who settled at the St. John Elver did not agree very well
with the original settlers. They grew angry with the Governor because
their grants of land had not been surveyed. He in turn charged them with
276 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [OHAP. XLII.
refusing to assist in the snrveys, by acting as chaiiiinen, unless tliey weie
well paid for it. Then they demanded additional representation in the
Assembly. Nova Scotia was then divided into eight counties, and there
Were thirty-six representatives in the Assembly, the districts where a
number of Loyalists had settled being included in the county of Halifax.
Governor Parr opposed an increase of representation, as his instructions for-
bade his increasing or diminishing the number of representatives in the
Assembly.
" Tlie Loyalists then began to agitate for a division of the province — a
policy which was strongly opposed by the Governor, and which gave rise t(i
much excitement and ill-feeling. Parr went so far as to remove some of the
Loyalists to the other side of the Bay of Fundy, in the hope that that would
settle the agitation ; but it only increased it, and the Loyalists, who had
many warm and influential friends at court, urged a division so earnestly
that the Ministry yielded to their wishes, and the Province of New Bruns-
wick was created (in 1784), so called out of compliment to the reigning
family of England. The River Missiquash was constituted the boundary line
between the two provinces, and the separation took place in the fall of 1784,
and the first Governor of New Brunswick, Colonel Thomas Carleton (brother
of Lord Dorchester), arrived at St. John on the 21st of November. In the
same year Cape Breton was made a separate colony (a) ; and as the Island of
St. John (Prince Edward Island) had been separated from Nova Scotia in
1770, there were now four separate governments in what at present constitute
the Maritine Provinces." (Tuttle's History of the Dominion of Canada, Chap.
Ixvi., pp. 328, 329.)
(a) In 1829, Cape Breton was restored to Nova Scotia, of which it now
forms a part.
CHAP. XLIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 277
CHAPTER XLIII.
New Brunswick.
The population of New Brunswick at the time of its separa-
tion from Nova Scotia, in 1784, was about 12,000. The govern-
ments of both provinces were similarly constituted — a Governor,
an Executive and Legislative Council, members of the latter
appointed by the Crown for life, and an Assembly or House of
Commons, elected periodically by the freeholders ; and both
provinces were prosperous and contented for many years under
successive governors, who seemed to have ruled impartially,
and for the best interests of the people, though with narrower
views of free government than those which obtained at a later
period. The Loyalists not only obtained the establishment of
New Brunswick as a province, but constituted the principal
members of its Legislature, the officers of its government, and
founders of its institutions ; and the chief public men of the
province have been from that day to this either U. E. Loyalists
or their descendants.
Mr. Andrew Archer, in his excellent History of Canada for
the Use of Schools, prescribed by the Board of Education for
New Brunswick, gives the following account of the formation
of the government of that province, and its founders :
"On Sunday, the 21st of November, 1784, Colonel Thomas
Carleton (brother to Sir Ouy Carleton), the first Governor of
New Brunswick, arrived in St. John harbour and landed at
Reed's Point. He had commanded a regiment during the revo-
lutionary war, and was much esteemed by his Majesty's exiled
Loyalists, The province was formally proclaimed the next day.
" The government of New Brunswick consisted of a Governor
278 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLIIL
and a Council that united both executive and legislative func-
tions, and a House of Assembly of twenty-six representatives.
The Council was composed of twelve members. They were
men of great talent, and had occupied before the war positions
of influence in their native States. Chief Justice Ludloiv hod
been a judge of the Supreme Court of New York ; James Put-
TYian was considered one of the ablest lawyers in all America ;
the Rev. and Hon. Jonathan Odell, first Provincial Secretary,
had acted as chaplain in the Royal army, practised physic
and written political poetry ; Judge Joshua Upham, a graduate
of Harvard, abandoned the Bar during the war, and became a
colonel of dragoons ; Judge Israel Allen had been colonel of
a New Jersey Volunteer corps, and lost an estate in Penn-
sylvania through his devotion to the Loyalist cause ; Judge
Edward Wi7islow, nephew of Colonel John Winslow, who
executed the decree that expelled the Acadians from Nova
Scotia, had attained the rank of colonel in the Royal army;
Beverley Robinson had raised and commanded the Loyal
American Regiment, and had lost great estates on Hudson
river ; Gabriel G. Ludloiu had commanded a battalion of Mary-
land Volunteers ; Daniel Bliss had been a commissary of the
Royal army ; Elijah Willard had taken no active part in the
war ; William Hagen and Guildford Studhohne were settled
in the province before the landing of the Loyalists ; Judge
John Saunders, of a cavalier family in Virginia, had been
captain in the Queen's Rangers, under Colonel Simcoe, and had
afterwards entered the Temple and studied law in London.
He was appointed to the Council after the death of Judge
Putman. The government of the young province was governed
with very few changes for several years.
" The town and district of Parr was incorporated in 1785,
and became the city of >S^^. John. It was the first, and long
continued to be the only incorporated town in British America.
It was governed by a mayor and a board of six aldermen and
six assistants. The first two sessions of the General Assembly
(1786-87) met in St. John. On meeting the Legislature at its
first session. Governor Carleton expressed his satisfaction at
seeing the endeavours of his Majesty to procure for the inhabi-
tants the protection of a free government in so fair a way of
being finally successful. He spoke of the peculiar munificence
CHAP. XLITI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 279
which had been extended to New Brunswick — the asylum of
loyalty — and all the neighbouring States ; and expressed his con-
viction that the people could not show their gratitude in a more
becoming manner than by promoting sobriety, industry, and
religion ; by discouraging all factious and party distinctions, and
by inculcating the utmost harmony between the newly-arrived
Loyalists and the subjects formerly settled in the province.
" Two years afterwards (1788), the seat of government was
removed to St. Anne's Point, Fredericton, which was considered
the most central position in the province. It is said that
Fredericton was chosen to be the seat of government because
Albany, the seat of the Legislature of New York (from which
State the great body of the' Loyalists came), is situated many
miles up the River Hudson, and is thus removed from the
distracting bustle, the factious and corrupting influences of the
great commercial metropolis at its mouth."*
* Chap, xxvi., pp. 260—262.
280 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XHV.
CHAPTER XLIV.
Prince Edward Island.
Prince Edward Island was first called by the French
St. John's Island, on account of the day on which the French
landed on it ; but in 1799 its name was changed, and it was
called Prince Edward's Island in honour of the Duke of Kent,
(William Edward) afterward William IV. After the close of
the American Revolution in 1783, a considerable number of the
exiled Loyalists went to Prince Edward's Island and became
merchants and cultivators of the soil.
" In 1763 the island was incorporated with Nova Scotia ;
but in 1770 it was made a separate province, in fulfilment of
a curious plan of civilization. It was parcelled out in sixty-
seven townships, and these were distributed by lottery among
the creditors of the English Government, each of whom was
bound to lodge a settler on every lot of two hundred acres that
fell to him. The experiment was not at first very successful,
but gradually the shares passed from the original speculators
to men who knew how to use the rich soil and usually healthy
climate of the island."*
* Bourne's "Our Colonies and Emigration," Chap, viii., p. 105.
CHAP. XLV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 281
CHAPTER XLV.
Lower Canada.
Lower Canada was first possessed by the French, and
under the rule of France the government was purely des-
potic, though not cruel or harsh. On the conquest of Lower
Canada in 1759, and its final ceding to England by the Treaty
of Paris, 1763, a military government was instituted, which
continued until 1774, when the famous "Quebec Act" was
passed by the Imperial Parliament, known as the 14th George
the Third, Chapter 83 ; or as " the Quebec Act " — it was in-
troduced into the House of Lords on the 2nd of May, 1774 — " for
Making more Efficient Provision for the Province of Quebec."
By the provisions of this famous Act, the boundaries of the
province of Quebec were extended from Labrador to the Mis-
sissippi, embracing in one province the territory of Canada,
together with all the country north-west of the Ohio to the
head of Lake Superior and the Mississippi, and consolidating all
authority over this boundless region in the hands of a Governor
and Council of not less than seventeen or more than twenty-
three members, with power to pass ordinances for the peace,
welfare, and good government of the province. At the close
of the war between England and France by the Peace of Paris,
1763, English emigration was invited to Lower Canada, with
the promise, by Royal Proclamation, of representative govern-
ment, as in the other colonies. That promise, however, was not
fulfilled by the Act of 1774 ; but the Catholics were not dis-
pleased that the promise of a Representative Assembly was not
kept, as a Representative Assembly, to which none but Pro-
testants could at that time be chosen, was less acceptable to
282 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLV.
them than the despotic rule of a Governor and Council nomi-
nated by the Crown. The Quebec Act authorised the Crown
to confer places of honour and business upon Catholics. The
owners of estates were further gratified by the restoration of
the French system of law. The English emigrants might com-
plain of the want of jury trials in civil processes, but the
French Canadians were grateful for relief from statutes which
they did not comprehend. The nobility of New France, who
were accustomed to arms, were still further conciliated by the
proposal to enrol Canadian battalions, in which they could
hold commissions on equal terms with English officers. The
great dependence of the Crown, however, was on the clergy.
The capitulation of New France had guaranteed to them free-
dom of public worship, but the laws for their support were
heid to be no longer valid. By the Quebec Act they were con-
firmed in the possession of their ancient churches and their
revenues ; so that the Roman Catholic worship was as effec-
tually established in Canada as the Presbyterian Church in
Scotland.*
This Act encountered very strong opposition both in England
and America. The Mayor, Aldermen, and Council of the city
of London presented a petition to the King against the Bill,
praying his Majesty not to sign it. In that long and ably
drawn up petition, occur the following words :
" We beg leave to observe that the English law, and that
wonderful effort of human wisdom, the trial by jnry, are not
admitted by this Bill in any civil cases, and the French law of
Canada is imposed on all the inhabitants of that extensive
province, by which both the persons and properties of very
many of your Majesty's subjects are rendered insecure and
precarious. We humbly conceive that this Bill, if passed into
a^ law, will be contrary not only with the compact entered
into with the various settlers of the Reformed religion, who
were invited into the said province under the sacred promise
of enjoying the benefit of the laws of your realm of England,
but likewise repugnant to your Royal Proclamation of the 7th
of October, 1763, for the speedy settlement of the said new
government. * * That the whole legislative power of the
* Bancroft, Vol. VIL, Cliap. xiv., pp. 157, 158.
CHAP. XLV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 283
province is vested in persons to be wholly appointed by your
Majesty, and removable at your pleasure, which we apprehend
to be repugnant to the leading principles of this free Constitu-
tion, by which alone your Majesty now holds, or legally can hold,
the Imperial Crown of these realms."
In the House of Commons the Bill was strongly opposed by
Messrs. Fox, Burke, Townsend and others, chiefly on the ground
of its unconstitutionality, and every effort was made to amend
it, but without success. The Bill was finally passed by a vote of
56 to 20.
In the House of Lords, the Bill was vehemently opposed by
the Earl of Chatham, who protested against it "as a most
cruel, oppressive, and odious measure, tearing up justice and
every good principle by the roots," and " destructive of that
liberty which ought to be the groundwork of every constitu-
tion." The Bill, however, passed the Lords by a vote of 26 to 7,
and received the royal assent on the prorogation of Parliament,
the 22nd of June, the King stating in regard to it that " it was
fovmded on the clearest principles of justice and humanity, and
would, he doubted not, have the best effect in quieting the
minds and promoting the happiness of his Canadian subjects."
The feeling against the Act was intense both in England and
the colonies, regarding it as a type of Imperial legislation for
the colonies. " The strongest excitement prevailed in England
for some months after the passing of the Act ; and the papers
were filled with little else than letters and remarks upon it."
The British Loyalist settlers in Canada were indignant, and
meetings were held in Quebec and Montreal, at which strong
resolutions were passed, and petitions unanimously signed to
the King, Lords and Commons, praying for the repeal of the
Act, and forwarded to England.
"On the 17th of May, 1775, Lord Camden moved in the
House of Lords for the repeal of the Act, but the motion was
defeated by a vote of 88 to 28." A similar motion by Sir
George Saville, in the Commons, was likewise defeated by a
vote of 174 to 86.* The feeling of the Loyalists throughout
* " The excitement in England and Canada on the passage of the Act
was, however, only a breeze compared to the storm of indignation which it
raised in the thirteen other provinces when the news reached them ; and
284 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLV.
Canada was very strong against this Act ; and its operations
gave no satisfaction to any party.*
From the prevalent dissatisfaction among all parties in
Canada with the Quebec Act of 1774, the Imperial Government
having, in 1788, sanctioned ordinances to restore the Habeas
Corpus Act, and the trial hy jury in civil cases, and obtained
there is no doubt but that the passage of this Act was ' the last drop'
whicii overflowed the cup of colonial patience, and led directly to the
Declaration of Independence." (Tattle's History of the Dominion of
Canada, Chap, lix., pp. 295, 296.)
* " The provisions of the Quebec Act dissatisfied all parties when they
came to be executed. The French majority, being represented by less than
one-fourth of the number of members in the Council, thought themselves
but little better off than when a purely military government. The English
party considered themselves injured because the trial by jury, in civil cases,
had been taken away. The absence of a representative form of government,
and of the privileges of the Habeas Corpus Act, made them feel that they
were denied the rights of British subjects.
" Nobody being satisfied, and the Governor (Sir Frederick Haldimand,
whose governorship lasted from 1778 to 1785) being very arbitrary, dis-
content reigned in the provinces. There were loud complaints, not only of
the Governor's tyranny, but also that justice was not fairly administered by
the judges in the course of law.
" Many persons, on slight grounds, were throM^n into prisons, were sent to
England, and at length, 1785, the unpopular Governor demanded his own
recall.
" The English Government saw that steps must be taken to put an end to
the general discontent. But this could not be done without making such
changes as might satisfy the increasing English and Protestant population as
well as the French and Roman Catholics. Nor could such clianges be made
on the instant, or without due preparation. Accordingly, in the first
instance, trial hy jury in civil cases, and the law of habeas cmipus, was intro-
duced into the province (in 1788). Next it was determined to procure further
and more perfectly reliable information al)out all its internal aftairs, and find
out, if possible, the best modes of removing the causes of complaint.
" Lastly, as a proof of the desire to deal impartially with the King's
Canadian subjects, it was decided to send out, as governor, one who had
rendered himself acceptable to all classes. This was no other than the
popular Sir Guy Carleton, who had been made a peer Mdth the title of Lord
Dorchester, who reached Quebec in October, 1786. During the succeeding
five years, until 1791, when he again departed (for a short time) to England,
the Governor did all in his power to mitigate the bad feelings growing out
of the differences of race, creed and language. In order to procure for the
English Ministers the information they needed about the internal affairs of
the province, he appointed Committees of Inquiry to inquire into all
CHAP. XLV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 285
full and minute information as to the internal state of Canada,
a Bill was prepared and introduced into the House of Commons
by Mr. Pitt, pursuant to a message from the King, on the 4th of
March, 1791, establishing a representative government for
Canada, after the model as far as possible of the British Consti-
tution. This Act is sometimes called the " Grenville Act," hav-
ing been chiefly prepared by Grenville, and conducted by him
through the House of Lords ; it is sometimes called the " Pitt
Act," having been introduced and carried through the House of
Commons by Pitt ; but it is generally known in Canada as the
Constitutional Act, 31 George III., Chapter 31 — the Act which
gave to Canada its first constitutional government, and under
the provisions of which Canada was governed for fifty years,,
until the union of the two Canadas in 1841.
Mr. Pitt in introducing his Bill stated " that the division of
the province into Upper and Lower Canada, he hoped would
put an end to the competition between the old French inhabi-
tants and the new settlers from Britain and the British colonies.
This division he trusted would be made in such a manner as to
give each a majority in their own particular part ; although it
could not be expected to draw a complete line of separation.
Any inconvenience, however, to be apprehended from ancient
Canadians being included in the one or British settlers in the
other, would be averted by a local Legislature to be established
in each.
" In imitation of the Constitution of the mother country,
he would propose a Legislative Council and House of Assembly
for each ; the Assembly to be constituted in the usual manner,
and the members of the Council to be for life ; reserving to his
Majesty to annex to certain honours an hereditary right of
sitting in Council (a power never exercised). All laws and
ordinances of the province to remain in force till altered by the
new Legislature. The Habeas Corpus Act was already law by
an ordinance of the province, and was to be continued as a
fundamental principle of the Constitution.
particulars relating to commerce, education, justice, the militia, and the tenure
of lands ; to make lull reports upon these ; to suggest changes and improve-
ments by which existing evils might be remedied." (Dr. Miles' School
History of Canada, Chap, v., pp. 181, 182.)
See also Tuttle's History of the Dominion of Canada, Chap, v., p. 322.
286 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLV.
" It was further meant to make a provision for a Protestant
clergy in both divisions, by an allotment of lands in proportion
to those already granted.
" The tenures were to be settled in Lower Canada by the
peal Legislature. In Upper Canada, the settlers being chiefly
British, the tenures were to be soccage tenures.
" To prevent any such dispute as that which separated the
thirteen colonies from the mother country, it was provided that
the British Parliament should impose no taxes but such as
might be necessary for the regulation of trade and commerce ;
and to guard against the abuse of this power, such taxes were
to be levied and disposed of by the Legislature of each
division."
The Bill was opposed in the House of Commons by Mr. Fox
and others, upon the grounds that it created two provinces and
two Legislatures, and made the members of the Legislative
Councils nominees of the Crown for life, instead of leaving their
election to the people ; but the Bill was supported by Edmund
Burke, who, with Fox, had voted side by side against the
Quebec Act of 1774, but who opposed each other on the Canada
Bill of 1791.*
Mr, Pitt, in reply to the objection of Mr. Fox and others,
stated among other things, " That the population of Upper
* It was the discussion on this Bill which produced the first separation
between Fox and Burke. The mind of Burke was excited to the highest
degree by the principles and horrors of the Frenah revolution, and he had
frequently denounced it with the full force of his lofty eloquence ; whQe Fox
had repeatedly expressed his admiration of the French revolution. When
the Canada Bill was discussed in the House of Commons, Burke commenced
his speech by a philippic against the republican principles of the revolu-
tionary Government of France ; and concluded by declaring that if by
adhering to the British Constitution would cause his friends to desert him,
he would risk all, and, as his public duty taught him, exclaim in Ms last
words, " Fly from the French Constitution ! " Fox said in a low voice,
" There is no loss of friendship, I hope." " Yes," retorted Burke, " there is
a loss of friendship. I know the price of my conduct. Our friendship is
at an end." Such a scene followed as had seldom, if ever, been witnessed
in the House of Commons. Members were veritably affected by such
an open rupture between those two celebrated statesmen and orators. Fox
shed tears ; and it was some time before he could sufficiently command his
emotions to reply.
CHAP. XLV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 287
Canada amounted to only 10,000 inhabitants, and that of Lower
Canada to not more than 100,000.*
With such preparation and explanations the Bill passed both
Houses of Parliament and received the royal assent, conferring
on Canada a new Constitution.
This Act separated the province of Quebec into two provinces,
Upper and Loiuer Canada, the division line between which was
the River Ottawa.
For each province a Legislature was established consisting of a
Governor, a Legislative Council and House of Assembly — in
imitation of the Constitution of England ; for the Governor was
to represent the Sovereign, the Legislative Council the House
of Lords, and the Assembly the House of Commons.
The members of the Legislative Council were to be discreet
persons, appointed by Royal authority for life ; the members of
the Assemblies were to be chosen by the people, once in four
years, unless oftener called upon, by dissolution, to elect new
members.
The Act was to come in force not later than the 31st of
December, 1791 ; and the date of meeting of the new Legislature
was not to be later than the 31st December, 1792.
Thus in fulfilment of a promise made in a Royal Proclama-
tion in 1763, Canada obtained a representative form of gov-
ernment in 1791.
It has been seen that the representative form of government
was obtained both for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by the
* Tins was an under-estimate of the population of both provinces. Later
and reliable authorities estimate the population of Lower Canada in 1791
at 150,000, of whom about 15,000 were British ; in 1763 the population of
Lower Canada was estimated at 65,000 ; the population had therefore more
than doubled during the twenty-seven years of English rule. Before 1782,
the English-speaking Protestant inhabitants were very insignificant in num-
ber ; but after 1782 tliey increased rapidly, and are estimated at upwards of
15,000, and by some writers as liigh as 30,000 in the year 1791. Tlie great
majority of them, besides, were of classes of people accustomed to think for
themselves, also ofi&cers and disbanded soldiers belonging to the army, and
en^igrants from the British Isles, who came to make homes for their families
in Canada. (Miles' School History of Canada, Part II., Chap, v., pp.
183, 184.)
It is stated on the best authorities that 10,000 Loyalist emigrants arrived
in what was afterwards designated Upper Canada, during the year 1783 ;
in 1791 the population of Upper Canada is stated to have been 12,000.
288 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLV.
representation and influence of the United Empire Loyalists ;
it was so in Canada. Thus are we indebted to the United
Empire Loyalists not only for our unity with the British
empire, but for the original constitution of representative gov-
ernment which, with enlarged application, is the basis of that
free government which now prevails throughout all the
provinces of the Dominion of Canada.
GOVERNMENT OF LOWER CANADA.
In 1786, Lord Dorchester had been appointed Governor of
Canada and Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in North
America.* But he left for England in August, 1791, on a year's
leave, and in his absence the administration of the Government
was entrusted to the Lieutenant-Governor, General Alured
Clarke, a retired British officer. The elections took place in
June, 1792, and were in some instances warmly contested.
Lower Canada had been divided into twenty-one counties,
eighteen of which elected two members each, and three — the
counties of Gaspd, Bedford, and Orleans — retui-ned one member
each ; the cities of Quebec and Montreal were each represented
by four members, and Three Rivers by two. Of the fifty
members elected to the first House of Assembly, fifteen were
of British origin, and thirty-five were of French origin.--f-
The Legislative Council consisted of fifteen members.
•'G'
* " In June, 1786, Sir Guy Carleton, now raised to the peerage as Lord
Dorchester, was appointed Governor-General of all the provinces, and Com-
mander-in-Chief of all the forces in British America. He arrived at
Quebec on the 23rd of October, and was joyfully received by all classes,
but especially by the Canadians, with whom he was a great favourite on
account of tlie mildness and justice with which he had treated them during
his former administrations. At the same time there also arrived a new
Chief Justice for Quebec, Mr. Smith, who had been Attorney-General for
New York, but had been forced to leave on account of his loyalty to the
British Crown." (Tuttle's History of the Dominion of Canada, Chap. Ixv.,
p. 321.
t " The elections came o£F during June, and the people exercised their
new privilege with prudence and judgment, returning good men ; and
although the elections were warmly contested in some places, everything
passed off quietly. There were fifteen English-speaking members elected,
amongst whom were some of the leading merchants, such as James McGill,
Joseph Frobisher, John Richardson and others, whose descendants are still
amongst our leading citizens. Amongst the French elected were many of
CHAP. XLV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 289
On the 30th of October, the Provincial Parliament was com-
manded to meet at Quebec the 17th of December, 1792, for the
actual despatch of business. On the meeting of the Legisla-
tive Council that day, the Hon. Chief Justice William Smith
was appointed Speaker. The House of Assembly did not agree
upon the election of Speaker on the first day — the French and
English-speaking members advocating respectively the election
of a Speaker of their own language ; but at length Mr. J. A.
Panet was elected by a large majority — he speaking both
languages with equal fluency.*
the most prominent seignors, such as Louis De Salaberry, M. H. De Rou-
ville, Philip Rocheblave, M. E. G. C. De Lotbiniere, M. La Vatrice and
others. Altogether, it is generally claimed that the first Assembly of Lower
Canada was the best the province ever had." (Tuttle's History of the Domi-
nion of Canada, Chap. Ixviii., p. 330.)
* The French-speaking members nominated Mr. J. A. Parret (Panet), a
leading advocate of Quebec ; and the English party nominated successively
Mr. James McGill, one of the most prominent merchants of Montreal, and
William Grant, of Quebec. The feeling was strong on each side to have in
the Speaker a gentleman of their own language ; but Mr. Parret (Panet) was
ultimately chosen by a large majority, to some extent because he understood
jmd spoke both languages fluently. Tliis gentleman occupied the position of
Speaker for upwards of twenty years, and fully justified the wisdom of the
first Assembly in electing him." — Ih., p. 330.
It is singular that in some histories of Canada it should have been stated
that the Speaker elected by the first House of Assembly could speak no
other tongue than the French language. Mr. Archer, in his History of Canada
for the Use of Schools, says : " By a vote of twenty -eight to eighteen, M.
Panet, who could spealc no language but his native French, was chosen" (p. 269).
Mr. Withrow, in his excellent History of Canada, says : " Mr. Panet, a dis-
tinguished advocate, who spoke no language but his native French, was elected
Speaker of the Assembly" (p. 291). The very discussion which took place
on the election of Speaker turned chiefly on the point whether a Speaker
should be elected who could speak one or both languages. Mr. P. L. Panet,
brother to Mr. J. A. Panet, who was elected Speaker, in reply to some of
his own countrymen who advocated the exclusive use of the French lan-
guage, while he advocated the ultimate use of the English language alone in
the Legislature and in the courts of law, commenced and concluded his
speech in the following words : " I will explain my mind on the necessity
that the Speaker we are about to choose should possess and speak equally well
the two languages." — " I think it is but decent that the Speaker on whom we
may fix our choice be one who can express himself in English when he
addresses himself to the representative of our Sovereign." (Christie's
History of Canada, Vol. L, Chap, iv., pp. 127, 128, in a note.) Mr. Christie,
after stating in the text about " J. A. Panet, Esq., an old and eminent advo-
VOL. II. — 19
290 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLV.
The Lieutenant-Governor made a speech expressing the solici-
tude and consideration of the King for his Canadian subjects,
in recommending to his Parliament such a change in their
colonial government as circumstances might require and admit.
" On a day like this," said his Excellency, " signalized by the
commencement in this country of that form of government
which has raised the kingdom to which it is subordinate to the
highest elevation, it is impossible not to feel emotions difficult
to be expressed.
" To give an opportunity for your loyal and grateful
acknowledgments to his Majesty is one of my motives for
calling you together, and that debt discharged, your Council
will doubtless be next employed for enacting the laws necessary
to confirm and augment the property of your country."
The Lieutenant-Governor concluded in the followingf words :
" Great Britain being happily at peace with all the world,
and I hope without apprehension of its interruption, the present
moment must be most fit and urgent for all those arrangements
best made at a season of tranquillity, and falling within the
sphere of our trust. The conviction I feel of your disposition
to cultivate that harmony amongst yourselves and each branch
of the Legislature, which is always essential to the public good
and private satisfaction, makes it unnecessary for me to enlarge
upon this subject.
" Such objects as it may become my duty to recommend to
your consideration, shall be occasionally communicated to you
by message."
The address of the Assembly in answer to his Excellency's
speech breathed a spirit .of grateful affection and loyalty.
After expressing their warmest gratitude to the King and
Parliament of Great Britain, "in granting to his Majesty's
subjects in this province a new and liberal Constitution for their
colonial government," the Assembly proceeds :
cate of the Quebec bar, returned a member for the Upper Town of Quebec,
was chosen by the Assembly for its Speaker," remarks, in a note, before
giving the speech of Mr. P. L. Panet quoted above, that " this excellent
man and good citizen (J. A. Panet) served, as we shall see in proceeding,
many years as Speaker, and without other remuneration or reward than
the approbation of his fellow-citizens and subjects." (Tuttle's History of
the Dominion of Canada, Chap. Ixvii., p. 127.)
CHAP. XLV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 291
" We cannot express the emotions which arose in our breasts,
on that ever-inemorable day when we entered on the enjoy-
ment of a Constitution assimilated to that form of government
which has carried the gloxy of our mother country to the
highest elevation. * *
" It is an unparalleled happiness for us to have an oppor-
tunity of presenting to his Majesty our loyal thanks, and of
expressing to him our gratitude ; such homage is the language
of our hearts, and it is due from us, for all the favours with
which we have been loaded. That duty fulfilled, we will turn
our attention with most ardent zeal to framing such laws as
may tend to the prosperity and advantage of our country.
" We hear with pleasure that Great Britain is at peace with
all the world, and we consider this as the most favourable time
for the consideration of the objects that fall within the sphere
of our charge, to cultivate harmony among ourselves and each
branch of the Legislature ; that it is a condition essentially
necessary to the public good and our own private satisfaction.
" We will at all times give the most speedy and deliberate
consideration to such messages as we may receive from your
Excellency."
Throughout this address of the Assembly there is the true
ring of manly sincerity, and heartfelt loyalty to the Throne
and to the unity of the empire. The Gov^ernor soon sent
several messages to the Assembly, submitting, by command of
the King, various subjects for their consideration, for which he
received their cordial thanks, and assurances that the subjects
submitted would receive their best consideration.
There was one subject of discussion which created much
feeling and protracted debate — namely, the language in which
the proceedings of the Assembly should be conducted, recorded,
and published ; but the rising storm was allayed and unity
restored by the decision to leave each member at liberty to
address the House in French or English at his pleasure — to have
all motions, before being put to the House, read in both
languages, and the record of the proceedings kept and published
in both languages- — a happy arrangement, which has been con-
tinued to this day.
The House of Assembly, in their reply to the opening speech
of the Lieutenant-Governor, expressed their intention of pre-
292 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERiCA [CHAP. XLV.
senting their heartfelt thanks to his Majesty for the new and
liberal Constitution conferred upon them. That truly loyal
address was as follows, and does lasting honour to its authors
and the Imperial Government :
"We, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the
representatives of Lower Canada, met in Assembly for the first
time under our new Constitution, humbly approach the Throne,
to express to your most gracious Majesty our sentiments of
gratitude and joy on the happy change which has taken place
in the forms of our government.
" The Constitution which it hath pleased your Majesty and
Parliament to give us, modelled upon that of Great Britain —
a Constitution which has carried the empire to the highest pitch
of glory and prosperity — assures to this colony the most solid
advantages, and will for ever attach it to the parent State.
" Now, partaking without distinction the benefits of a govern-
ment which protects all equally, we offer our thanks to Divine
Providence for the happiness prepared for us. Our prayers are
for the general prosperity of the nation of which we make
a part, and for the preservation and felicity of our august and
virtuous Sovereign.
" May it please your Majesty to receive favourably our
respectful homage, and permit us anew to express our loyalty
and attachment.
" May it please your Majesty and Parliament to receive our
most humble thanks for the favour conferred upon this colony.
" Such are the heartfelt wishes of the representatives of the
people of Lower Canada."
Such were the auspicious circumstances and cordiality of feel-
ing attendant upon the inauguration of constitutional government
in Lower Canada. The session continued upwards of four months
— from December until May — during which time a great many
subjects were introduced respecting expenses and revenues, sala-
ries of officers, affairs appertaining to legislation, to the militia, to
the administration of justice, and the welfare of the country ; but
only eight Bills were passed, and which were assented to in the
King's name by the Lieutenant-Governor, who prorogued the
Legislature on the 9th of May, 1793, with a short and com-
plimentary speech.
It is not my object to narrate in detail the legislation or
CHAP. XLV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 293
proceedings of any of the colonies, except in so far as may be
necessary to illustrate the history of the Loyalists of America.
A most impressive illustration of true loyalty was given by the
Assembly of Lower Canada before the close of its first session.
In the Lieutenant-Governor's speech at the opening of the
session, he informed the Legislature that Great Britain was at
peace with all the world, and that there was no apprehension
of its interruption. But before the close of the session in-
telligence was received at Quebec that the revolutionary autho-
rities of France had declared war asjainst Great Britain.
On the 2.5th of April, 1793, the Lieutenant-Governor sent
a message to the Assembly, informing them that he had received
a letter from the Secretary of State, of the 9th of February
previous, stating that " the persons exercising the supreme
authority in France had declared war against his Majesty."*
The answer to the message breathes the Loyalists' spirit.
They thanked his Excellency for his message, and assured
him that " it was with horror they had heard that the most
atrocious act which ever disgraced society had been perpetrated
in France (alluding to the recent decapitation of the unfortunate
Louis XV.), and that it was with concern and indignation they
now learned that the persons exercising the supreme authority
there had declared war against his Majesty.
" His Majesty's faithful subjects earnestly pray that his arms
may be crowned with such signal success over his enemies as
shall speedily bring about a peace honourable, safe, and advan-
tageous to his Majesty and the empire."
In conclusion, the Assembly assured his Excellency that " the
House would immediately proceed to a revision of the Militia
* The transmission of this letter occupied ten tveeks, it being dated the 9th
of February, and reaching Quebec the 25th of Apiil. In the Quebec Gazette of
the 10th of November, 1 792, it is stated that the latest news from Philadelphia
and New York was to the 8th of October, giving accounts of a battle on
the Wabash and Arguille rivers?, between an expedition of American forces
under General Wilkinson and a body of Indians, in which the latter were
routed. In a notice from the "General Post Office, Quebec, I7th of
November, 1791," information is given that "a mail for England will be
closed at this office on Monday, the 5th of December next, at four o'clock p.m. ,
to be forwarded by way of New York, in H.M. packet-boat which will sail
from thence in January." (Christie's History of Canada, Vol. I., Chap, iv.,
p. 142.)
294 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLV.
laws, and if alterations and amendments were necessary they
would make such amendments as should be deemed the most fit
and proper to secure and protect the province from every insult
and injury of his Majesty's enemies."
At the close of the session, after assenting, on behalf of the
King, to the eight Bills which had been passed, the Lieutenant-
Governor delivered the proroguing speech, in which he thanked
the Assembly for the diligent and practical consideration
which they had given to the various subjects which had
been svibmitted to them, and the " further regulations necessary
for the better organizing and more effectually calling forth the
militia for the defence of this extensive and valuable country,
when our enemies of any description shall make it necessary."
His Excellency alluded to the war of the rulers of France
against England in the following words :
" Gentlemen, at the first meeting of the Legislature, I con-
gratulated you upon the flattering prospects which opened
to your view and upon the flourishing and tranquil state of
the British empire, then at peace with all the world. Since that
period, I am sorry to find its tranquillity has been disturbed
by the unjustifiable and unprecedented conduct of the persons
exercising the supreme power in France, who, after deluging
their own country with the blood of their fellow-citizens, and
imbruing their hands in that of their Sovereign, have forced
his Majesty and the surrounding nations of Europe into a
contest which involves tjie first interests of society. In this
situation of public affairs, I reflect with peculiar pleasure upon
the loyal and faithful attachment of his Majesty's subjects of
this province to his royal person, and to that form of govern-
ment we have the happiness to enjoy."*
* " Thus ended the first session of the first Parliament of Lower Canada,
and as a whole we may say that the session was a satisfactory one. The
demons of party spirit and of national prejudice had indeed shown them-
selves ; but only enough to show that they were in existence, and would
become potent agents of discord as the heat of political contest warmed them
into life. The war of races, which had been going on between the French
and English on this continent for over a century and a half, was not ended
by the capitulation and cession of Canada ; only the scene of action was
changed from the battle field to the council chamber, and words and ballots
took the place of swords and bullets. The French Canadians showed at the
very commencement of constitutional government that they considered the
CHAP. XLV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 295
The second session of the Parliament was summoned by Lord
Dorchester himself, the 11th of November, 1793.* This session
lasted seven months and a half, though only six Bills were
passed. In his speech at the opening of the session, Lord
Dorchester recommended the due administration of justice,
together with the arrangements necessary for the defence and
French language, the French peo]3le, the French laws, and the French
religion, the language, people, laws, and religion of Canada, and that the
English were only interlopers who had no business there, and with whom
they were to affiliate as little as possible." (Tuttle's History of the Dominion
of Canada, Chap. Ixviii., p. 332.)
With the exception of the first sentence, we have no sympathy with the
spirit or sentiment of the above quoted passage. The addresses to the
Governor and the King show that the French did not regard the British as
intruders, but as the legitimate rulers of the country, to whom they expressed
all possible respect and loyalty. All that they asked on the question of
language was, that in legislative and judicial proceedings the French
language might be equally used with the English language ; and was this
unreasonable on the part of those who then comjjrised nine-tenths of the
population, and whose laws and exercise of worship had been guaranteed by
the articles of capitulation and the Quebec Act of 1774 ?
■'^"The Provincial Parliament met again at Quebec on the lltli of
November, 1793, and was opened by Lord Dorchester, who had arrived at
Quebec from England on the 24th of September, and re-assumed the govern-
ment ; his Excellency Major-General Clarke returning to England, bearing
with him the best wishes of those whose Constitution he had fairly started,
and put in operation to their satisfaction. His government had been
popular, and he received several flattering addresses at departing.
" Lord Dorchester's return was cordially welcomed, a general illumination
taking place at Qirebec the evening of his arrival." (Christie's History of
Canada, Chap, v., p. 145.)
" The great French revolution, causing France such awful scenes of distress
and bloodshed as the world had never seen before, was in progress. It made
the Canadians feel that their transfer to the Crown of England now saved
them from innumerable evils which would have been their lot had Canada
been again restored to France.
" Lord Dorchester's popularity and personal influence were made viseful in
preventing the people of the provinces from being misled by seditious
persons who came from France on purpose to tamper with them." (Miles'
School History of Canada, Part Third, Chap, i., p. 190.)
" All Europe was engaged in war, and the emissaries of the French republic
were busily at work trying to gain sympathy in the United States, and stir
up that country to war with England — an efi'ort which would probably have
succeeded had it not been for the firnmess of Washington. The consul for
France in the United States was also endeavouring to spread republican
296 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLV.
safety of the province, as matters of the first importance. His
Excellency also informed the Assembly that he would order to
be laid before them an account of all the receipts of the
provincial revenues of the Crown since the division of Upper
and Lower Canada.
The purport of his Excellency's speech, and the spirit of the
Assembly, and the relations between the colony and the parent
state, may be inferred from the following cordial and compli-
mentary address of the Assembly in answer to the Governor's
opening speech :
" Fully convinced of the happy effects to be derived from a
solid and invariable administration of justice, and of the
indispensable necessity for an establishment for assuring the
defence and safety of the province, we will lose no time in
resuming the consideration of these important subjects, and in
making such amendments in the existing laws as may best
protect the persons and property of its inhabitants.
" By receiving from your Excellency an account of the receipts
of the provincial revenues of the Crown, we shall be enabled to
deliberate on the means by which they may be rendered more
productive ; and peneti-ated with gratitude to the parent state
for having hitherto defrayed the surplus expenditure of the
province, we flatter ourselves that, in consideration of our situa-
tion, we shall continue to receive her generous assistance — a
hope further strengthened by your Excellency's intention of
not requiring from us any subsidy at present, which confirms
the benevolence of the mother countiy.
" In the infancy of our Constitution, we perceive the necessity
of greater circumspection in the formation of law^s that may
tend to support and establish it ; and also to cultivate amongst
the different branches of the Legislature that cordial harmony
and concord so necessary to promote the measures essential to
the happiness and well-being of our country."
ideas in Canada, to incite the people to revolt against Briti.sli autliority, and
to declare themselves in favour of the republic. It was no wonder then that
the great bulk of the law-abiding and peace-loving citizens of Canada
welcomed Lord Dorchester with delight — one who had for so many years
been associated in their recollections with peace and prosperity, and who had
successfully resisted the attack of the only foe who had assailed Quebec
during his many administrations." (Tuttle, Chap. Ixviii., p. 333.)
CHAP. XLV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 297
The Assembly bestowed much attention upon the Judicature
Bill of the previous session, and on the Militia Bill, and brought
them to maturity ; also an Alien Bill was introduced and passed,
establishing " regulations respecting aliens and certain subjects
of his Majesty, who have resided in France, coming into this
province and residing therein, and for empowering his Majesty
to receive and detain persons charged with or suspected of high
treason, and for the arrest and commitment of all persons who
may individually, by seditious practices, attempt to disturb the
government of this province.*
It happened at the commencement of this session that
Edward, Duke of Kent, the father of our beloved Queen
Victoria, was in Canada, and held military command of the
troops. The day after the assembling of the Legislature, the
Assembly presented him with a most cordial and affectionate
address, as did subsequently the Legislative Council, clergy, and
citizens of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers, styling the
prince " the son of the best of sovereigns." The prince de-
lighted all by his answers, his amiable manners and exemplary
conduct. All were especially delighted with his declared dis-
approbation of the terms the King's old and new subjects;"
* It appears by a proclamation of Lord Dorchester, dated the 26tli of
November, a fortnight after the commencement of the session of the Legis-
lature, that there were emissaries of France and others in the province, who
were busy in propagating among the inhabitants tlie revolutionary principles
of the infidel and bloody rulers of France. He says : " Whereas divers evil-
disposed persons had lately manifested seditious and wicked attempts to
alienate the affections of his Majesty's loyal subjects by false representations
of tlie cause and conduct of the persons at present exercising supreme
authority in France, and particularly certain foreigners, being alien enemies,
who are lurking and lie concealed in various parts of this province, acthig in
concert with persons in foreign dominions (evidently alluding to parties in the
United States), with a view to forward the criminal purposes of such persons,
enemies of the peace and happiness of the inhabitants of this province, and
ot all religion, government, and order." His Excellency therefore called
upon all magistrates, captains of militia, peace-officers, and others of his
Majesty's good subjects throughout the province, to be vigilant, and to do
their utmost to discover and secure all and every person who might hold
seditious discourses, or uttei' treasonable words, spread false news, publish or
distribute libellous papers, written or printed, tending to excite discontent
or lessen the affections of his Majesty's subjects, or in any manner to disturb
the peace and happiness under his Majesty's government in this colony," etc.
298 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [UHAl'. \LV.
"French and English inhabitants." He said all were "the
King's Canadian subjects."*
Lord Dorchester transmitted to the Assembly, on the 29th of
April, 1794, a message peculiarly interesting from its being
the first financial statement laid before the Legislature of Lower
Canada. The message commences : " The Governor has given
directions for laying before the House of Assembly an account
of the provincial revenue of the Crown from the commence-
ment of a new Constitution to the 10th of January, 1794. "-f-
The House, by an address, thanked his Excellency for the
message and papers accompanying it ; they observed that they
* " The prince, shortly after this, receiving notice of his promotion to the
rank of major-general, and appointment to a command in the West Indies,
was presented, previovis to his departure from Quebec, with several con-
gratulatory letters of a most gratifying character. The Legislative Council, the
Eoman Catholic clergy, the citizens of Quebec, and the bu.rgesses of William
Henry paid his Royal Highness spontaneous respects in this manner, to
whom he responded feelingly and affectionately, for the spontaneous proofs
of esteem which in parting they gave him ; and which in truth were not the
effusions of adulation, but an homage of a grateful people to the intrinsic
virtues and the social and manly character of a son of, as he was truly called,
'the best of sovereigns.'" (Christie's History of Canada, Vol I., Chap, v.,
p. 140.)
t The account transmitted was under six heads :
1. " The casual and territorial revenue established prior to the conquest,
which his Majesty has been most graciously pleased to order to be applied
towards defraying the civil expenses of the province."
2. " The duties payable to his Majesty under the Act of the 14th of his
reign, chap. 88 (the ' Quebec Act '), on articles imported into the province of
Quebec, and on licenses to persons for retailing spirituous liquors."
3. " The duties imposed by the Provincial Legislature, ^vith the appropria-
tion and balance."
4. " Amount of cash received from fines and forfeitures imposed by the
courts of justice."
5. " The naval officers' returns inwards since the division of the province,
which were originally intended as a check on the customs, but seem not to
answer the end imposed."
6. " A statement of the monies taken out of the pocket of the subject on
this account ; its progress and diminution before it lodges in the public
coffers, with the after diminution on account of the collection, that every
circumstance of this important business may be constantly before their eyes;
that in the ou.tset of the Constit\ition, and its progress, they may guard this
important branch from those corruptions and abuses which have brought
so many miseries on other nations."
H^
CHAP. XLV] AND THEIR TIMES. 299
saw in it an additional proof of the paternal solicitude of his
Majesty to ease the burdens of his subjects, and of his Ex-
cellency's anxiety to promote the interests of this province ;
and that the magnitude and utility of the objects recommended
to their consideration could not fail engaging their serious
attention as soon as the important matters now before them,
and in a state of progression, were accomplished.*
In closing the session, the 31st of May, 1794, Lord Dorchester
assented, in the King's name, to five Bills, reserving the Judi-
cature Bill for the royal pleasure (which was approved and
became law the following December), and one for appointing
Commissioners to treat with Commissioners on behalf of Upper
Canada, relating to duties and drawbacks to be allowed to that
province on importations through the lower province. The
closing speech of his Excellency, among other things, contained
the following words :
" I have no doubt that, on returning to your respective homes,
you will zealously diffuse among all ranks of people those
principles of justice, patriotism, and loyalty which have dis-
tinguished your public labours during this session, and that
you will use your best exertions to find out and bring to justice
those evil-disposed persons who, by inflammatory discourses, or
the spreading of seditious writings, endeavour to deceive the
unwary and disturb the peace and good order of society ; and
that you will avail yourselves of every opportunity to convince
your fellow -subjects that the blessings they enjoy under a truly
free and happy Constitution can be preserved only by a due
obedience to the laws, all breaches of which are the more
inexcusable as the Constitution itself has provided for the safe
and easy repeal or modification of such as may not answer the
good intentions of the Legislature."
The interval between the close of the second and the opening
of the third session of the Legislature, from the 31st of May,
1794, to 5th of January, 1795, quiet and contentment prevailed
in the province ; and the short speech of Lord Dorchester (for
his speeches were always short and to the point) at the opening
of this third Session was chiefly one of congratulation, com-
mendation and suggestion. Among other things he said :
* Christie's History of Canada, Vol. I., Chap, v., where the accoiuita
referred to are given in detail.
SOO THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [OHAP. XLV.
" Gentlemen, I shall order to be laid before you a statement of
the provincial revenues of the Crown for the last year, together
with such part of the expenditure as may enable you to esti-
mate the ways and means for the most necessary supplies, in
bringing forward which you will keep in view the advan-
tages of providing for the public exigencies by a prudent
restraint on luxuries, and by regulations which may, at the same
time, encourage and extend commerce.
" Gentlemen, the judges and law officers of the Crown
Tiave been directed to draw up and report their opinion on
the subject of your address to me on the 28th of May last"
(this related to the establishment of forms of proceeding in
the courts of justice, and a table of fees to which the different
civil officers, advocates, notaries, and land surveyors should be
entitled in their respective offices) ; " and I have much satisfaction
in perceiving this early disposition on your part to prevent and
guard against abuses which might impede the course of justice,
or give rise to customs that would establish oppressive demands,
and gradually efface from our minds a due sense of their un-
warrantable origin.
" Your own disinterested conduct in your legislative capacity ;
your zealous endeavours to promote a general obedience to the
laws, connected with a benevolent attention to the interests of
the subject, form a solid foundation for government, and
afford me great hopes that our new Constitution will be firmly
established, and ensure, for ages to come, the happiness of the
people."
Referring to this speech of Lord Dorchester, Mr. Christie
well remarks : " The foresight, the rectitude, the wisdom of
this most upright man and virtuous governor, cannot fail to
strike the reader, and command his respect and admiration."
As might be expected, the address of the House of Assembly
in answer to the Governor's speech was equally cordial and
assuring, concluding with the following words :
" It is highly flattering to us that our conduct in our legis-
lative capacity has met with your Excellency's approbation.
Being thoroughly sensible of the happiness we enjoy under the
free and liberal Constitution which has been granted to us by
the parent state, under your Excellency's prudent and wise
administration, we will continue to exert our most zealous
CHAP. XLV,] AND THEIR TIMES. 301
endeavours to promote a general obedience to the laws, and to
establish that Constitution in such a manner as may ensure for
ages to come the happiness of the people."
On the 16th of February, 1795, the Governor sent a message
to the Assembly, transmitting " the accounts of the provincial
scheme of the Crown from the 6th of January, 1794, to the 5th
of January, 1795, also of the civil expenditure for the same
period."*
The Commissioners appointed under the Act of the previous
session, to treat with Commissioners on behalf of Upper
Canada concerning duties and drawbacks to be allowed in
favour of that province, reported that they had met and finally
adjusted with them the sum to be reimbursed to Upper Canada
for 1793 and l794.t
Several important Acts were passed this session relating to
revenue, defraying the charges for the administration, the
* This return contained all the accounts transmitted the year before, under
the six heads meutioned in a previous note, page 298, and other accounts-
under fourteen additional heads, the eighth of which is as follows :
"No. 8. Estimate of such part of the civil expenditure for the ensuing
year as may eiiable the House of Assembly to calculate the ways and means
for the most necessary supplies ; all the pensions, amounting to ^1,782 6a 6d.
sterling, though chiefly granted for services rendered in Canada, are deducted,
these services being considered as rendered to the empire at large ; it is
from thence, therefore, their rewards, with other acts of benevolence, may be
expected to flow. The salaries of sundry oflicers, to the amount of J782 10s.,
appearing to belong to the military rather than the civil expenditure, are also
deducted."
t The following extract from their report illustrates the amicable spirit in
which the Commissioners of the two provinces entered upon their work and
arranged the matters committed to their trust :
"The Commissioners, as well as those for Upper Canada, being authorized
to enter into an agreement for a further period, and being equally desirous to
treat on the subject, which if unpro.vided for might give rise to difficulties
hereafter ; being at the same time most solicitoiis on both sides to preserve
the harmony and cordiality which prevail between the two provinces, the
article of the provisional agreement for two years was cheerfully assented to.
By that article the province of Upper Canada is entitled to one-eighth part
of the revenue already payable on goods, wares, or merchandise coming
into Lower Canada, under an Act of the Legislature thereof ; and to assure
the most perfect freedom of trade with the sister province, it is provided
that no imposts or duties shall be imposed or shall be laid by Upper Canada,
whicli renders unnecessary the establishing of Custom-houses on the line
502 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLV.
support of the civil government, and for other purposes. On
the 7th of May, his Excellency prorogued the Legislature with
a speech which contained the following paragraphs :
"Gentlemen, I cannot put an end to this session of our
Provincial Pai-liament without expressing my approbation and
thanks for that zeal for the public welfare which has dis-
tinguished all your proceedings.
" Gentlemen of the House of Assembly, the cheerfulness
with which you have granted a supply towards defraying
the civil expenditure of the province gives me great satisfac-
tion ; the judicious choice you have made of the means for this
purpose, evinces a tender regard for the interests and condition
of this country ; and the unanimity in this tribute of gratitude
and attachment to the King's government cannot but be
highly pleasing to his Majesty."
The fourth and last session of this Parliament was summoned
for the 20th of November, 1795, and continued until the 7th of
May, 1796, during which twelve Bills were passed that received
the royal assent. In his opening speech, his Excellency ex-
pressed his " great satisfaction to observe, during the present
session, a continuance of the same zealous attention to their
legislative duties, and to the general interests of the province,
which he had occasion to notice in their former proceedings."
His concluding words were :
" Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, and Gentlemen
of the House of Assembly, in expressing my approbation of
your proceedings, I must further observe that the unanimity,
loyalty, and disinterestedness manifested by this first Provincial
Parliament of Lower Canada, have never been surpassed in any
of his Majesty's provincial dominions ; and I feel convinced
that the prosperity and happiness of this country will continue
to increase in proportion as succeeding Parliaments shall follow
your laudable example."
Thus ended the first Parliament of Lower Canada ; thus was
inaugurated and consolidated its government, which, without
-which divides the two provinces, but saves to both an expense which, in all
probability, would far exceed any trifle of revenue that this agreement may
take from one or the other of the provinces more than their legitimate
proportion."
CHAP. XLV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 303
the strife of partizanship or the machinery of party, was pure,
just, mild, economical, patriotic, and progressive.
Thus also ended, in the course of a few weeks. Lord Dor-
chester's connection with Canada ; for having obtained his
Majesty's leave of absence, he embarked with his family for
England the 9th of July, 179G. He was far advanced in life ;
he had been, with few interruptions, connected with Canada,
as officer, military commander, and governor, more than thirty-
six years. He was with General Wolfe at the siege and taking
of Quebec in 1759, where he was wounded; he was colonel of
the Grenadiers, and quartermaster-general of Wolfe's army. In
the various capacities in which he served, whether as governor
or commander-in-chief or diplomatist, he was equally dis-
tingviished for his courage and prudence, his justice and
humanity, as well as for his many social and private virtues.*
His departure from Canada was a matter of universal regret.
Farewell addresses were presented to him by the citizens of
Quebec, Montreal, and other places — all expressing to him the
highest respect and warmest gratitude for his long and valuable
services to Canada. The general spirit of these addresses may
be inferred from the following expressions :
" Having experienced for many years your lordship's mild
and auspicious administration of his Majesty's Government,
and being aware that during that period the resources,
* The conduct and character of Lord Dorchester as governor and com-
mander-in-chief of the army may be inferred from the following among
many other notices in the Index to Bancroft's History of the United States,
Vol. X., p. 616 :
" Carleton, Guy, afterwards Lord Dorchester, colonel of Grenadiers in
Wolfe's army ; is wounded ; is at Havana (one of the commanders in taking
it) ; Governor of Canada ; has full authority to arm and employ the Cana-
dians and Indians against the Americans ; abhors the scheme ; takes measures
for the defence of the province ; the command of Canada assigned to him,
he will not turn the savages loose on the frontier ; returns no answer to
Montgomery's summons ; repels the assault made by that general ; is lenient
to his prisoners ; his humanity to sick Americans left behind ; blamed for
restraining the Indians ; restrains the ravages of the Indians ; the King and
Ministers are displeased at this ; Carleton prepares to invade the United
States ; is displeased at being superseded by Burgoyne ; refuses to assist
Burgoyne ; is complained of by that officer ; supersedes Clinton in America ;
Ms humanity ; restrains Indian hostility."
304 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLV.
prosperity, and happiness of this province have increased in a
degree almost unequalled, we, the inhabitants o£ the city of
Quebec, respectfully request your lordship to accept our sincere
and most grateful thanks and acknowledgments.
" The length of your residence in the province ; the advan-
tages derived to our society from the example of private virtues
shown by yourself and your family ; your lordship's uniform
prudent and paternal attention, under every change of time
and circumstance, to the true interests of his Majesty's sub-
jects entrusted to your immediate care, and that gratitude
which we feel (and must be permitted to repeat), excite in our
minds the warmest sentiments of personal attachment, of which
allow us to tender you the strongest assurance.
" Under these impressions, we view your lordship's intended
departure with the deepest regret ; and submitting to your de-
termination to leave us with unfeigned reluctance, we entreat
you to accept our most sincere wishes for the future prosperity
of yourself and all your family."
In the Montreal address we have the following expressions
of sentiment and feelings :
" The inhabitants of Montreal, penetrated with gratitude for
the happiness enjoyed by them under your lordship's adminis-
tration of the government of this province during a great number
of years, embrace the present opportunity of your intended
departure for Great Britain to entreat you to receive their
humble acknowledgments and accept their most sincere wishes
for your health and prosperity, and for that of all your family.
" The prudence and moderation which distinguished your
conduct in the province assured internal peace and tranquillity,
and in reflecting infinite honour on your lordship, have fully
justified the confidence reposed in you by our august Sovereign,
and assured to you the affections of the inhabitants."
The grateful and affectionate answers of Lord Dorchester to
both addresses may be easily conceived. The comparatively
happy state of things indicated by these addresses continued,
with interruptions, for about ten years after Lord Dorchester'^
departure.
Lord Dorchester was succeeded by General Prescott, who
became lieutenant-governor, until he was relieved the 31st of
July, 1799, by the appointment of Sir Robert S. Milnes, who
CHAP. XLV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 305
acted as lieutenant-governor of the province during the ensuing
six years, when the senior Executive Councillor, Thomas Dunn,
succeeded to the administration of the government for two
years, until the appointment, in 1807, of Sir James Craig as
lieutenant-governor and commander-in-chief, under whose ad-
ministration the reign of discord and strife of race became
predominant, with the natural results which in long years
afterwards ensued. These matters, however, do not come
within the province of my history of the Loyalists of America.
But it is to be observed that though the French had much
to complain of, having scarcely any representation in the
Legislative Council, none in the Executive, and none in the
Provincial Board of Education, called the " Royal Institu-
tion," which had the care of education in the province,* and
therefore had to depend alone upon their own elected repre-
sentatives in the House of Assembly for the protection of their
rights and feelings ; yet they evinced a loyalty through all
these years, and through the war of 1812 — 1815, not excelled
by the British inhabitants of Lower Canada, or of any other
colony, notwithstanding the efforts of French and American
emissaries to create disaffection in the province. A remark-
able illustration of the loyalty of the French in Lower Canada
occurred in 1805 : " The horrors of the French revolution had
passed by, but Great Britain and France were still engaged in
a desperate war. By land, on the continent of Europe, the
French, under Napoleon I., were everywhere victorious against
the countries in alliance with Great Britain. But England by
sea was more than a match for France ; and on October 21st,
1805, won the battle of Trafalgar, by which the French naval
power was destroyed. The news of this victory reached Canada
early in January, 1806. The Canadians of French origin im-
mediately showed that they felt less sympathy for their own
* " It was also one of the grievances in Lower Canada that Protestants
alone were appointed Executive Councillors, and that while the chief
Protestant ecclesiastic was admitted, the Eoman Catholic Church was not
allowed to be represented. Great offence was also caused by this to the great
majority of the inhabitants, which was made to be felt the more keenly by
the determination of the Council not to acknowledge the title, or even
existence, of a Roman Catholic bishop in the province." (Miles' School
History of Canada, Part III., Chap, ii., pp. 195, 196.)
VOL. II. — 20
S06 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA L^'^-^^- -'^^V-
race, and less pride in its military prowess, than gratification at
the naval success of the empire of which they formed a part.
They indulged in patriotic songs, and testified their interest by
illuminations and other modes of rejoicing."*
* Miles' School History of Canada, Part III., Chap, i., pp. 192, 193.
CHAP. XLVL] and their TIMES. 307
CHAPTER XLVI.
Government of Upper Canada.
The Constitution of Upper Canada was the same as that of
Lower, established by the same Constitutional Act of 1791, the
Act 31 George III., Chapter 31.
Before the Constitution of Upper Canada was established,
when it formed part of the province of Quebec, Lord Dor-
chester, by proclamation, divided the now western part of the
province, afterwards Upper Canada, into four districts with
German names — namely, Lunenburg, extending from the River
Ottawa to Gananoque ; Mecklenburg, extending from Gananoque
to the Trent ; Nassau, extending from the Trent to Long Point,
on Lake Erie ; and Hesse, including the rest of the western part
of Upper Canada to the Lake St. Clair. To each of these four
districts a judge and a sheriff were appointed, who adminis-
tered justice by means of Courts of Common Pleas.
Under the new Constitution, Upper Canada, like Lower
Canada, had a Legislature consisting of a Governor, appointed
by the Crown, and responsible only to it ; a Legislative Council,
appointed by the Crown, and the members appointed for lif e ;
and a Legislative Assembly, elected by the freeholders of the
country. The Assembly was to be elected once in four years,
but might be elected oftener if dissolved by the Governor, and
was empowered to raise a revenue for public services, roads,
bridges, schools, etc. ; the Legislative Council consisted of seven
members, appointed for life by the Crown ; the House of
Assembly consisted of sixteen members, elected by the people.
By usage and by approbation of the Imperial Government,
though not by the provisions of the Constitutional Act, the
308 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLVI.
Lieutenant-Governor was assisted, mostly ruled, by an Executive
Council, consisting for the most part of salaried officers, judges,
and members of the Legislative Council, who were not respon-
sible either to the Governor or to the Legislative Council, or to
the House of Assembly — an independent, irresponsible body —
an oligarchy which exercised great power, was very intolerant,
and became very odious.
The first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada was General
John Graves Simcoe, who had commanded the Queen's Rangers
in the revolutionary war ; he was a landed gentleman, elected
to the British House of Commons, in which he supported
the Constitutional Act of 1791, and afterwards accepted the
office of Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada created by that
Act, and did all in his power to give beneficial effect to it. He
arrived in Upper Canada the 8th of July, 1792, when the
members of the Executive and Legislative Councils were sworn
in at Kingston, and writs were issued for the election of
members of the Legislative Assembly.
After much hesitation and perplexity, the seat of govern-
ment was first established at a village then called Newark,
now Niagara, at the mouth of the Niagara River, where the
Governor built a small frame house which had to serve as a
Parliament House, as well as residence for the Lieutenant-
Governor. The Governor, with the usual state and ceremony,
opened the first session of the first Parliament of Upper Canada
the l7th of September, 1792. There were present three mem-
bers of the Legislative Council and five members of the House
of Assembly. The members of the Assembly have been
represented as " plain, home-spun clad farmers and merchants,
from the plough and the store." The members of the Legis-
lature have always, for the most part, been such from that day
to this, but many of the members of the first Parliament of
Upper Canada had possessed respectable, and some of them
luxurious homes, from which they had been exiled by narrow-
minded and bitter enemies ; they had fought on battle fields for
the country whose forests they now burned and felled ; their
home-spun garments were some of the fruits of their own
industry, and that of their wives and daughters. Eight years
had elapsed since 10,000 of these United Empire Loyalists,
driven from their homes in the States, came into the dense
CHAP. XL VI.] AND THEIR TIMES. . 309
wilderness of Upper Canada, to hew out homes for themselves
and their families in the vast solitude, the silence of which was
only broken by the barking of the fox, the howl of the wolf
and the growl of the bear, and the occasional whoop of the
Indian.*
The population of Upper Canada was, in 1792, about 12,000
souls. The Loyalist pioneers of Upper Canada fought as
bravely against privations, hardships, and dangers in founding
their forest homes, as they had done in the Royal ranks in the
defence of the unity of the empire. During the first ten years
of their hard enterprise and labours, the forest began to yield
to the axe of industry, and the little cabins, and clearings, and
growing crops gave evidence of human life and activity ; but
there were no towns or large settlements ; the inhabitants were
scattered in little groups, or isolated log-houses, along the north
shores of the River St. Lawrence, Lakes Ontario and Erie, and
of the Detroit river, the only gathering of houses or villages
being Kingston, Newark, and Amherstburg.
The first session of the first Parliament of Upper Canada
lasted only four weeks, commencing the 17th of September,
and closing the 15th of October, 1792 ; the first session of
the Parliament of Lower Canada lasted nearly five months —
from the 17th of December, 1792, to the 9th of May, 1793.
During these nearly five months, the Legislature of Lower
Canada passed eight Bills, all well prepared and useful, but
with much ceremony and delay from the polite French seignors ;
the Legislature of Upper Canada, in their session of four weeks,
• But the Indians were friendly to white settlers, as they have always been.
Almost the entire Mohawk tribe, with other loyalist Indians, under their
chief, Joseph Brant, followed tlie fortunes of their white loyalist brethren,
and settled on their reservation on the Grand River. Brant had been
educated in a Christian school in Philadelphia ; had a comfortable home,
and lived respectably on the Mohawk river before the American revolu-
tion ; had entertained missionaries, and had assisted one of them in translat-
ing a part of the New Testament and Prayer Book into the Mohawk
language. Colonel Stone, in his " Life of Brant " and the " History of the
Border Wars of the American Revolution," has nobly vindicated the
character of Brant, and of his brethren of the Six Nations, from the misrepre-
sentations and calumnies of American historians. Brant was a member of
the Church of England, and built a church in his settlement in 1786, in
which was placed the first church bell ever heard in Upper Canada.
310 ' THE LOYALISTS OF AMEEICA [CHAP. XLVI.
also passed eight Bills, indicating no haste, well prepared, and
of importance and useful. The Bills passed provided for the
introduction of English law ; the trial by jury ; for the charge
of millers, limiting their allowance for grinding and bolting
grain to the rate of one bushel for every twelve bushels ground ;
for the easy recovery of small debts ; for the change of the Ger-
man names of the four districts into which Lord Dorchester had
divided what now constituted Upper Canada, and granted to
the United Empire Loyalists. Lunenburg, extending from the
River Ottawa to the River Gananoque, was now called the
Eastern District ; Mecklenburg, extending from Gananoque to
the River Trent, was called the Middle or Midland District ;
Nassau, extending from the Trent to Long Point, on Lake Erie,
was called the Home or Niagara District ; and Hesse, embrac-
ing the rest of Canada, west to the Lake St. Clair, was called
the Western or Detroit District. These districts were again
divided into twelve counties. An Act was also passed to. erect
a jail and court-house in each district.
Governor Simcoe closed this session of the Parliament the
loth of October, l7Jj2, and after complimenting both Houses
on the business-like manner in which they had performed their
legislative duties, concluded his proroguing speech with the
following significant words :
" I cannot dismiss you without earnestly desiring you to
promote, by precept and example, regular habits of piety and
morality, the surest foundations of all private and public
felicity; and at this juncture I particularly recommend you to
explain that this province is signally blessed, not with a muti-
lated Constitution, but with a Constitution which has stood the
test of experience, and is the very iniage and transcript of that
of Great Britain, by which she has long established and
secured to her subjects as much freedom and happiness as is
possible to be enjoyed under the subordination necessary to
civilized society."
When Governor Simcoe selected Newark as the seat of
government, he thought that Fort Niagara, on the opposite side
of the river, would be ceded to England, as it was then occupied
by a British garrison ; but when he found that the Niagara
river was to be the boimdary line between Great Britain and
the United States, and that the British garrison was to be
CHAP. XLVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 311
withdrawn from Fort Niagara, he judged it not wise that the
capital of Upper Canada should be within reach of the guns
of an American fort. He made a tour through the wilderness
of the western peninsula, and proposed to found a new London
for the Canadian capital, on the banks of what he then called
the River Thames, the site of the present city of London, in
the heart of the western district, and secure from invasion ;
but Lord Dorchester preferred Kingston, which he had made
'the principal naval and military station of the province. To
this Governor Simcoe objected. It was at length agreed to
select York, as it was then called, the site of an old French
fort. Though the surrounding land was low and swampy, the
harbour was excellent.
Governor Simcoe removed to the new capital before a house
was built in it, and lodged some time in a large canvas tent,
pitched on the site of the old fort, at the west end of the bay.
He employed the Queen's Rangers, who had accompanied him,
to open a main road — Yonge Street — from York to Lake Simcoe,
called after the Governor himself. He proposed to open a direct
communication between Lakes Ontario and Huron, and then
with the Ottawa ; and projected an enlightened and vigorous
policy for promoting the development of the country, its agri-
culture, fisheries, population, trade, etc. ; but before he had
time to mature and give effect to his plans, he was suddenly
removed, in 1796, from the government of Upper Canada to
that of St. Domingo, in the West Indies. He was succeeded
in the government by the senior member of the Executive
Council, the Hon. Peter Russel, who improved his two years'
administration, not by carrying out the patriotic plans of his
predecessor, but by granting lands to himself and his friends
for speculation, to the impediment of settlements and often to
the disappointment and wrong of real settlers, whose applica-
tions for lands were rejected, which were afterwards granted to.
the land-speculating friends of the Governor, or to himself —
whose grants to himself are said to have run something on this
wise : " I, Peter Russel, Lieutenant-Governor, etc., do grant to
you, Peter Russel, etc."*
* " Diuing Colonel Simcoe's administration he had been exceedingly care-
ful with regard to the distribution of lands ; but immediately on his.
812 THE LOYALISTS OF OIERICA [CHAP. XLVL
General Simcoe zealously encouraged emigration to and set-
tlement in the country, and during the four years of his
administration the poj)ulation increased to 30,000. There was
a very considerable emigration from the United States of
persons who did not like the new system of government there,
and to whom the first Loyalist settlers had written, or visited,
giving a favourable account of the climate and productiveness
of the country.
Though the seat of government was removed to Toronto in
1795, the Parliament continued to meet at Niagara until 1797.
During its successive sessions at Niagara (then Newark), the
Parliament passed Acts for the civil and municipal administra-
tion of the country, the construction of roads, fixing duties on
goods imported from England and the United States, etc., etc.
The Legislature gave a reward of twenty and ten shillings
respectively for the heads or scalps of wolves and bears, an Act
departure, irregularities began to creep into the Crown Land Department,
just as it had in Lower Canada, and great injustice was done to the actual
settlers. Large tracts of the most eligible sites were seized upon by Govern-
ment officials and speculators, and the actual settlers found themselves in
many instances thrust into out-of-the-way corners, and cut off from inter-
course with any near neighbours for want of roads." (Tuttle's History of
the Dominion of Canada, Chap. Ixxxiii., p. 387.)
" On the removal of Governor Simcoe, (a) most of his wise schemes fell
through. Land designed for settlements was seized by speculators, especially
in the vicinity of Toronto, and the general development of the country was
greatly retarded." (Withrow's History of Canada, Chap, xvi., p. 293.)
Scarcely any — if any — of these early land speculators had served as United
Empire Loyalists during the revolutionary war ; and their descendants, if
existing, are as little known as if their fathers had never lived.
(a) Lord Dorchester did not endorse Governor Simcoe's policy, as the
latter had not concurred with the former in giving German names to the
four first districts of Upper Canada, and in the selection of the seat of
government. The American Government represented Governor Simcoe as
exciting the Iroquois or Mohawks, both in Canada and "Western New York,
against it — representations in which there was not a shadow of truth, though
Americans were endeavouring to excite disaffection to the British Govern-
ment and sympathy with republican France against England in both Upper
and Lower Canada, especially in the latter province. But by these
representations, and those of disappointed local speculators, the Home
'Government removed Governor Simcoe, the father of constitutional, pure, and
^progressive government in Upper Canada.
CHAP. XLVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 313
suggestive of the exposures of the early settlers ; and allowed
the members of the Assembly ten shillings per day each. In
the second session, the first Parliament passed an Act forbidding
the introduction of slavery into the province — ten years in
advance of Lower Canada on this subject.
Major-General Hunter succeeded the Hon. Peter Russel, in
1799, as Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. He possessed
little energy or enterprise, and did little or nothing except as
advised by his Executive Council of five ; so that the Govern-
ment of Upper Canada was practically an oligarchy, irrespon-
sible alike to Governor and people, each member receiving
£100 per annum as Councillor, besides the lands he was able to
obtain. Yet the Government, upon the whole, was satisfactory
to the country, and commanded for many years the support of
its elected representatives.
When General Hunter first met the Parliament in Toronto,
the 2nd of June, 1800, the growth of Upper Canada having
been rapid, its population now numbered upwards of 50,000.
This year, 1 800, the Legislature passed an Act prohibiting the
sale of spirituous liquors to the Indians. In 1802, the Legis-
lature of Upper Canada, as had that of Lower Canada, passed
an Act appropriating £750 to encourage the growth of hemp, in
order to render England independent of Russia in the supply
of hemp for cordage for the navy, as was being rapidly the
case in the supply of timber to build ships. As obstructions on
the St. Lawrence rendered commu.nication more difiicult
between Upper and Lower Canada than with Albany and New
York, articles of commerce from Europe could be more readily
brought in by that route than by the St. Lawrence ; a consider-
able trade sprang up with the United States, which rendered
necessary the establishment of custom-houses on the frontiers.
Accordingly, ports of entry were established at Cornwall,
Brockville, Kingston, Toronto, Niagara, Queenston, Fort Erie,
Turkey Point, Amherstburg, and Sandwich, the duties being
the same on American as on English goods. The Governor
was authorized to appoint collectors, at salaries not exceeding
£100 currency per annum, except when the amount of duties
collected at a port was less than £100, in which case the
collector was allowed one-half of the amount collected in lieu
of salary.
314 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLVI.
In 1807 Parliament made provision for eight masters of
grammar schools, one for each district, and at a salary of £100
currency ($400) for each master.
In the meantime emigration continued large. Many of the
emigrants were from the United States. The troubles of '98
in Ireland were followed by a large Irish emigration to Canada ;
there were also a considerable number of Scotch and a few
English emigrants ; but the larger number of emigrants were
from Ireland and the United States.*
The Legislature continued from session to session to pass
Bills for the various improvements of the country ; after doing
which its members did not give much attention to politics, but
devoted themselves to the culture and enlargement of their
farms, of which their descendants are at this day reaping large
advantages.-f-
Mr. McMullen, in his History of Canada, speaking of the
year 1809, says:
" No civilized country in the world was less burdened with
taxes than Canada West at this period. A small direct tax on
property, levied by the District Courts of Session, and not
amounting to £3,500 for the whole country, sufficed for all
local expenses. There was no poor rate, no capitation tax, no
tithes, or ecclesiastical rates of any kind. Instead of a road
tax, a few days' statute labour annually sufficed. Nowhere did
the working man find the produce of his labour so little
diminished by exactions of any kind. Canada West literally
teemed with abundance ; while its people, unlike the early
* " In Upper as well as Lower Canada tlie first sixteen years' experience
of the new Constitution had been very encouraging. All concerned in
working it out during that period kept as clear as possible from caiises
of discord. The consequence was that harmony and good progress marked
the early career of the province." (Miles' School History of Canada, Part
III., Chap, i., pp. 193, 194.)
t " Meanwhile the country had steadily prospered, undisturbed in its forest
isolation by the great European war, which was deluging with blood a
hundred battle fields and desolating thousands of homes. By the year 1809,
the population had increased to about 70,000. Taxes were exceedingly light.
The Customs revenue, derived principally from the imports of groceries
— for clothing was chieflj' home-spun — amounted to ^7,000.'^ (Withrow's
History of Canada, Chap, xxi., p. 296.)
CHAP. XLVI.]
AND THEIR TIMES.
315
French and Americans, had nothing to fear from the red man,
and enjoyed the increase of the earth in peace,"
I have thus given a brief narrative of the formation of the
government of Upper Canada, and of the first seventeen years
of its operations, down to the period when the anticipated
hostilities between Great Britain and the United States — the
latter being the tools of Napoleon to rescue Canada from Great
Britain — rendered preparation necessary on the part of the
Loyalists of Canada to defend their country and homes against
foreign invasion.
I have also given some account of the first settlement of the
country, and the privations and hardships of the first settlers.
But believing that a narrative from a single pen could not do
justice to this subject, or could present to the reader, in so
vivid and interesting a light, the character, sufferings, courage,
and enterprise of our country's forefathers and founders, as
narratives from themselves, with the diversity of style cha-
racteristic of communications from various sources, I have
therefore inserted in Chapter XLI. those interesting papers
transmitted to me from time to time, at my request, during the
last twenty years.
316 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLVII.
CHAPTER XLVII.
War by the United States against Great Britain, from 1812 to
1815 — Introductory and General Remarks.
The war between Great Britain and the United States, from
1812 to 1815, furnishes the strongest example of the present
century, or of any age or country, of the attachment of a people
to their mother country, and of their determination, at whatever
sacrifice and against whatever disparity, to maintain the national
life of their connection with it. The true spirit of the Loyalists
of America was never exhibited with greater force and bril-
liancv than during the war of 1812 — 1815.
England was engaged in a death struggle for the independence
of the continental nations of Europe and the rights of man-
kind. At the darkest hour of that eventful contest, when the
continent was drenched with the blood of nations, and the
Tyrant had his feet upon their neck, and England alone stood
erect, taxing her resources to the utmost and shedding her best
blood for human freedom, the Democratic party in the United
States — the ever anti-British party — the pro-slavery party —
the party in the United States least subordinate to law and
most inimical to liberty — at such a crisis such a party declared
war against Britain, and forthwith invaded Canada, before
the declaration of war was known in Ensfland.
At that time the population of Lower Canada was 225,000
souls — 200,000 of whom were French ; the population of
Upper Canada was 75,000 ; the population of the United States
was upwards of 8,000,000 : so that the population of the two
Canadas was to that of the United States as one to twenty-
seven ; and the population of Upper Canada was to that of the
United States as one to one hundred and six.
CHAP. XLVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 317
Yet the Canadas, with a frontier of more than 1,000 miles,
and aided by a few regiments of regular soldiers, sent as a
mere guard for the principal cities, from Halifax to Amherstburg,
resisted the whole military power of the United States for two
years, at the end of which not an inch of Canadian ground was
in possession of the invaders ; and within six months after
England had given freedom and peace to Europe — chaining its
Tyrant to the island rock of Elba, sweeping with its fleet the
coasts of the United States, and sending 16,000 veteran soldiers
to aid the struggling Canadas — the boasting Madison and his
Government sued for peace, without even mentioning the
original pretexts of war, which Great Britain generously
granted.
It does not come within our purpose to write a history of this
war ; we present only such phases and events of it as will
illustrate the Loyalist spirit and courage of the Canadians,
French as well as English, and even true Americans ; for the
American settlers in Canada were, with few exceptions, as loyal
subjects and as bold defenders of their adopted country as the
U. E. Loyalists themselves ; and even the most virtuous and
intelligent part of the citizens of the United States protested
against the alliance of the Democratic rulers at Washington
with the tyrant and scourge of Europe.
We shall notice, in the first place, the alleged and real causes
of the war; secondly, the preparations for it made by the
Governments and Legislatures of the two Canadas ; thirdly, the
invasions of each province, each year, separately, and the battles
fought. There were no less than eleven invasions of the
Canadas by the American armies during the three years of the
war, besides naval engagements, and various incursions of
marauding and plundering parties.
318 THE _,
\y^- ^i.i»AA:JXIiA^^.f».
CHAPTER XLVIII.
Alleged and Real Causes of the War.
From the first — from the treaty of peace between Great
Britain and the United States in 1783 — there was a large
party in the United States bitterly and actively hostile to
England and its colonies ; that party had persecuted and driven
the Loyalists from the United States, and compelled them to
seek homes in the Canadian wilderness, and had even followed
them with its enmities in their new abodes ; that party had
sympathized with the revolutionists of France, who crimsoned
the streets of Paris with the blood of their Sovereign and
fellow-citizens, and who sent emissaries to Canada to subvert
legal authority, and excite the strife of anarchy and bloodshed.
The base of the operations of all the emissaries of French
revolutionists in Canada was for twenty years the United
States, aided directly and indirectly by American sympathizers ;
that same party sympathized and even leagued with Napoleon
against England while she was defending the liberties of
Europe and of mankind ; it was the same party that in subse-
quent years aided the rebel Mackenzie and the rabble Fenians
to invade Canada, allowing the United States to be the base of
their organizations, and opening to them the American arsenals
of arms and ammunition ; it was the same party that, in con-
spiracy with the Tyrant of France and the enemy of human
freedom, declared war against Great Britain in 1812, in order
to wrest Canada from her possession, and make it an appendage
of France and the United States.*
* " The war party in the United States was not very strong, numerically
speaking, and it was not composed of the most respectable portions of the
CHAP. XLVIII.] AND THEIK TIMES. 319
The American Government alleged two reasons as the ground
of its declaration of war against Britain : the one was, that the
British Government had issued Orders in Council which injured
the American commerce with other countries ; the other was,
that the British Government had infringed the rights of the
United States by authorizing the boarding of American vessels
in search of deserters from the English army and navy, and
seizing them.
As to the first of these reasons, namely, the English Orders
in Council, the facts are as follow : " After the annihilation of
the naval power of France at Trafalgar in 1805, by Lord
Nelson, the principal transactions of France at sea were the
fitting out and arming of privateers to prey upon the English
merchant vessels and commerce. To accomplish his purpose
more effectually, Napoleon promulgated the following year
after the destruction of his fleet what is called the Berlin
Decree."*
" No nation was allowed to trade with any other country in
any articles the growth, produce, or manufactures of any of the
community ; but what it lacked in these two requisites it made up in loud
and demonstrative clamour, and the more serious-minded and important
portions of the people were being forced, against their better judgment, into
a position hostile to Great Britain, by the continued cry of a few demagogues,
who were more anxious to give vent to their old feeling of spite against
Great Britain than to consult the best interests of their countrj'." (Tuttle's
History of the Dominion of Canada, Chap. Ixxii., p. 349.)
* This Decree is dated " Imperial Camp, Berlin, November 21st, 1806."
Its principal Articles are as follow :
" Art. 1. The British islands are in a state of blockade.
"Art. 2. All commerce and correspondence with them, is prohibited ; conse-
quently, all letters or packets written in England, or to an Englishman,
written in the English language, shall not be dispatched from the post-offices,
and shall be seized.
" Art. 3. Every individual, a subject of Great Britain, of whatever rank or
condition, who is found in countries occupied by our troops or those of our
allies, shall be made prisoner of war.
"Art. 4, Every warehouse, all merchandise or property whatsoever,
belonging to an Englishman, are declared god-prize.
"Art. 6. No vessel coming directly from England or her colonies, or
having been there since the publication of this Decree, shall be admitted into
any port.
" Art. 7. Every vessel that by a false declaration contravenes the foregoing
320 THE LOYALISTS OF AJVliiiKlUA [CiiAr. A1.V11L
British dominions, all of which, as well as the island of Great
Britain itself, were declared to be in a state of blockade. He
appointed residents in every trading country, and no ship was
to be admitted into any of his ports without a certification of
origin ; that is, of the nature of the goods they carried, and
that no part of these was English. In consequence of these
Decrees, the English commerce, during the months of August,
September, and October, 1807 — that part of the year in which
the Berlin Decree of November, 1806, was carried into full
effect — was not only greatly cramped, but lay prostrated on the
ground, and motionless, before a protecting and self- defensive
system was adopted by our Orders in Council."*
The British Orders in Council were dated January 7th, 1807,
and were a measure of retaliation for the protection of British
commerce in response to Napoleon's Berlin Decree of the 21st
of November, 1806. By these Orders in Council, "all trade to
France or her dependencies was strictly prohibited ; all vessels,
of whatever nation, which ventured to encjaffe in this trade
were declared liable to seizure, and France and her dependencies
were thus reduced to that state of blockade with which she
had vainly threatened the British islands. The Orders in
Council admitted but of one exception to this general blockade
of the French empire. The French had declared all vessels
liable to seizure which had touched at a British port ; the Orders
in Council, to counteract this provision, declared, on the other
hand, that only such ships as were in that situation should be
permitted to sail for France. Thus did the utter extinction
of the foreign trade of France result as a natural consequence
of the very measures of her own Government ; measures
which no despotism, how ignorant soever, would have ventured
to adopt, had it not trusted to a power which effectually silenced
all popular opinion."-|-
As France was the aggressor upon the rights of neutrals by
disposition, shall be seized, and the ship and cargo confiscated as English
property.
" Art. 10. Oiu- Ministers of Foreign Relations, etc., are charged with the
execution of the present Decree. "
* British Annual Register, 1807, Vol. XLIL, Chap, xii., p. 227.
t Thompson's History of the War of 1812, between Great Britain and
the United States, Chap. Ill, pp. 23, 24.
CHAP. XLVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES, 321
the Berlin Decree, and as the Orders in Council were a defensive
retaliation upon France for her attempt to destroy English
commerce, the American Government should have first remon-
strated with France and demanded reparation ; but this was
not the case ; the outcry of the Madison partizans was against
Eno^land alone. It is true some grumbling words were uttered
by some parties against the policy and acts of the French
Government ; but mere words to save appearances, not fol-
lowed up by any acts ; for by a collusion between Napoleon
and Madison, it was understood that the Articles of the Berlin
Decree were not intended to apply to ships of the United
States — would not be executed against them — and were intended
to destroy the commerce of Great Britain. An American writer •
(Lossing) remarks, " With a 'partiality towards the Americans
that was practical friendship, the French cruisers did not, for
a whole year, interfere with American vessels trading with
Great Britain ;" and Mr. Alex. Baring, M. P. (afterwards Lord
Ashburton),in his Inquiry into the Causes and Consequences of
the Orders in Council, said that " no condemnation of an
American vessel had ever taken place under it."
By this collusion between the Tyrant of Europe and the Presi-
dent of the United States, the necessities of France were
supplied, and the shipping interests of the United States largely
promoted, at the expense of the commerce and shipping interests
of England.
But the collusion, or conspiracy, between Napoleon and Madi-
son were carried on to weaken the English navy by the deser-
tion of its sailors, as well as to injure English commerce by con-
nivance in behalf of American trading vessels. The seduction
of deserters from the British navy, and even army, was carried
on successfully on a large scale. The safety of England con-
sisted chiefly in her navy, which she was increasing and
strengthening by every possible means. Therefore every skilled
sailor was of importance to England, while every practicable
scheme was resorted to by her enemies to induce and facilitate
the desertion of her seamen and soldiers — especially of her sea-
men, several thousands of whom were detected and seized on
board of American vessels — constituting as they did the best
sailors on board American merchant vessels, and the vital
strength of the French privateers. To stop this depleting of
VOL. II. — 21
322 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLVIII.
her naval resources, England put in exercise her right of board-
ing vessels of neutral powers in search of deserters from her
navy. The only neutral power in Europe was Sardinia ; so
that the United States was the only neutral power that had
vessels upon the ocean ; and the President of the United
States was conniving against England with the usurper and
oppressor of Europe.
The right of a belligerent power to search the vessels of
neutral powers in search of deserters had never been denied,
though the modification of its exercise had frequently been
sought ; but under the teachings of Napoleon, his American
pupils now began to exclaim against it as an infringement of
national dignity and rights. The English Government had
directed the exercise of this right with the greatest caution and
courtesy, and only in regard to vessels on board of which, from
specific information, there was reason to believe there were
English deserters. These deserters, on getting smuggled on
board of American vessels, would forthwith take the oath of
allegiance to the United States, and be recognized and claimed
as American citizens.*
An event now occurred which enabled President Madison to
excite his partizans throughout the United States to a flame of
* The justice of the proceedings and demands of the British Government,
the fairness of its proposals, and tlie injustice and unreasonableness of the con-
duct of the Madison U. S. Government, are forcibly presented in the following
preamble to resolutions adopted by the Legislature of the State of Massa-
chusetts, as late as the 5th of February, 1813 :
" Whereas the President, in his message to Congress, has made known to
the people of the United States that the British Orders in Council have
been repealed ' in such manner as to be capable of explanations meeting
the views of the Government ' of the United States ; and therefore none of
the alleged causes of war with Great Britain now remain except the claim
of the right to take British subjects from the merchant ships of the United
States' :
"And whereas, during the administration of General Wasliington and
President Adams, this claim of Great Britain was not considered a reasonable
cause of war ; and under the administration of President Jefferson, the
Government of Great Britain did offer to make an arrangement with the
United States, which in the opinion of Messrs. Montrose and Pinkey, their
Ministers, placed this subject on a ground that was both honourable and
advantageous to the United States, and higlily favourable to their interests,
and was, at the same time, a concession which had never before been made ;
CHAP. XLVIir.] AND THEIR TIMES. 823
indiffnation ao;ainst Ensfland. Information had been received
that there were English deserters on board the American ship
Chesapeake; the British warship Leopard sought their resto-
ration, and on being refused fired into the Chesapeake, and
recovered the four deserters claimed. The attendant circum-
stances being omitted, the simple fact announced by the Presi-
dent to Congress, that the English warship Leopard had fired
into the American ship Chesapeake, and in American waters,,
killing several persons, and had seized and carried off four
American citizens, produced the excitement he was anxious to
create against England, preparatory to the war on which he
was then determined — in the zenith of Napoleon-is success and
power, and in the extremity of England's struggle for her own
existence and the liberties of mankind. The statement of the
American President as to the affair of the ships Leopard and
Chesapeake has been repeated to this day by American his-
torians, and is used in American school books to illustrate
England's arrogance and cruelty ; whereas all the facts of the
case prove directly the reverse. We give the account of the
affair from one American writer, who, though partial, was too
honest to omit essential facts, much less to pervert them ; we
refer to Dr. Holmes, author of American Annals, and quote
at length his account of the affair. He says :
" The frigate Chesapeake, being ordered to cruise in the Medi-
terranean Sea, under the command of Commodore Barron, sailing
from Hampton Roads, was come up with by the British ship-
and it is highly probable that the Government of Great Britain would still
be willing to make an avrangemeflt on this subject which should be alike
honourable and advantageous to the United States :
" And whereas, under the administration of President Madison, when the
arrangement of matters in controversy between the United States and Great
Britain was made with his Britannic Majesty's Minister, David Montague
Erskine, Esq., the impressment of seamen was not considered of sufficient
importance to make it a condition of that arrangement :
"And whereas the European ■powers, as well as the United States, recognize
the principle that their subjects have no right to expatriate themselves, and that
the nation has a right to the services of all its citizens, especially in time of war ;
and none of those powers respect the neutralization laws of others so far as to
admit their operation in contravention of that principle — and it is manifestly
unjust for a neutral power to make war upon one nation in order to compel it to
relinquish a principle which is m,aintained by the others, etc."
324 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLVllL
of-war Leopard, one of a squadron then at anchor within the
limits of the United States. An officer was sent from the
Leopard to the Chesapeake with a note from the captain re-
specting some deserters from his Britannic Majesty's ships,
supposed to be serving as part of the crew of the Chesa2:)eake
and enclosing a copy of an order from Vice-Admiral Berkeley
requiring and directing the commanders of ships and vessels
under his command, in case of meeting with the American frigate
at sea, and without the limits of the United States, to show the
order to her captain, and to require to search his ship for the
deserters from certain ships therein named, and to proceed and
search for them ; and if a similar demand should be made by
the American, he was permitted to search for deserters from
their service, according to the custom and usage of civilized
nations on terms of amity with each other. Commodore Barron
gave an answer that he knew of no such men as were de-
scribed ; that the recruiting officers for the Chesapeake had
been particularly instructed by the Government, through him,
not to enter any deserters from his Britannic Majesty's ships;
that he knew of none such being in her ; that he was instructed
never to permit the crew of any ship under his command to be
mustered by any officers but her own ; that he was disposed to
preserve harmony, and hoped his answer would prove satis-
factory. The Leopard, shortly after this answer was received by
her commander, ranged alongside of the Chesapeake, and com-
menced a heavy fire upon her. The Chesapeake, unprepared for
action, made no resistance, but remained under the fire of the
Leopard from twenty to thirty minutes ; when, having sufi"ered
much damage, and lost three men killed and eighteen wounded,
CJommodore Barron ordered his colours to be struck, and sent
a lieutenant on board the Leopard to inform her commander
that he considered the Chesapeake her prize. The commander
of the Leopard sent an officer on board, who took possession of
the Chesapeake, mustered her crew, and, carrying off four of her
men, abandoned the ship. Commodore Barron, after a com-
munication, by writing, with the commander of the Leopard,
finding that the Chesapeake was very much injured, returned,
with the advice of his officers, to Hampton Roads." (American
State Papers, 1806-08.)
" On receiving information of this outrage, the President, by
CHAP. XLVITI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 325
proclamation, interdicted the harbours and waters of the United
States to all armed British vessels, forbade all intercourse with
them, and ordered a sufficient force for the protection of Norfolk,
and such other preparations as the occasion appeared to require.
An armed vessel of the United States was dispatched with
instructions to the American Minister at London to call on the
British Government for the satisfaction and security which the
outrage required." (American State Papers, 180G-08, pp. 183,
184, 248—252.)*
Such is the American State Paper account of this affair,
published some years afterwards ; and from this it will be
seen that what was asked by the captain of the Leopard was
what had been granted by all neutral nations to belligerents —
to seek for and take their own deserters on board of neutral
vessels, in order to prevent neutrals from being, or suspected
of being, in collusion with either belligerent party. The
American Government being in sympathy with the French Gov-
ernment during the whole of its twenty years' war with
England, sought to change and evade this hitherto undisputed
usage of mutually friendly nations in regard to belligerents.
The Chesapeake seems to have been selected to make up a cause
of war with Great Britain, by the warlike proceedings of
the President before communicating with the British Govern-
ment on the subject. The American people had nothing but a
complete perversion of the facts of the case until years after-
wards.
It is plain from the true version of the affair that the captain
of the Leopard acted courteously and fairly, though in excess
of the authority granted by the British Government ; that he
* Holmes' American Annals, Vol. II., pp. 434, 435.
The manner in which this affair was presented to the public by the Pre.si-
dent and American writers may be inferred from the following :
" This vessel (the Chesapeake) was suddenly attacked within our waters in the
time of profound peace, compelled to surrender, and several seamen, alleged
to be British, were then forcibly taken from lier. The burst of indignation
which followed was even more violent than that which was produced by tl^.e
Orders in Council in 1793 [1807]. Party animosity was suspended ; meetings
were assembled in every village ; the newspapers were filled with formal
addresses ; volunteer companies were everywhere set on foot ; and, in the
first frenzy of the moment, the universal cry was for immediate war.
Although hostilities were not declared, the feelings of America were front
326 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLVIII.
offered the same facilities to the captain of the Chesapeake,
in regard to examination for deserters, that he asked himself ;
that the commander of the Chesapeake stated what he knew to
be untrue when he asserted that there were no deserters on board
the Chesapeake, which he knew would be detected on examina-
tion of his crew.
In all the American accounts and discussions on the question,
they ignore the usage or customary law of civilized nations as
to neutral or mutually friendly nations in respect to belligerent
powers, and are silent as to France and England being at war
with each other, and that in encouraging desertions from the
English ships, and then claiming them as American citizens,
they were playing into the hands of Bonaparte against England.
It appears that President Madison, withovit awaiting or
asking satisfaction or explanation on this affair of the Leopard
and Chesqpeake, forthwith prohibited the anchoring of British
war ships in American waters, and then sent a special messen-
ger and communication to the American Minister in London to
demand satisfaction of the British Government for the alleged
" outrage" upon the Chesapeake. But did the British Govern-
ment show the passion and violence of the President of the
United States ? Let the American author above quoted be our
witness again on this point. Dr. Holmes says :
" Reparation was made by the British for the attack on the
Chesapeake. Augustus J. Foster, the British envoy, informed
the Secretary of the United States that he was instructed to
repeat to the American Government the prompt disavowal made
by his Majesty, on being apprised of the unauthorized act of
the officer in command of his naval forces on the coast of
America, whose recall from a highly important and honourable
command immediately ensued, as a mark of his Majesty's dis-
approbation ; that he was authorized to offer, in addition to
that disavowal on the part of his Majesty, to order the imme-
(diate restoration, as far as circumstances would admit, of the
men who [though deserters], in consequence of Admiral Berke-
tliat day at war with England." (Breckenridge's History of the War
of 1812.)
This state of feeling was precisely what President Madison wished to
create, preparatory to his meditated war with England, in connection with
;the French usurper.
CHAP. XLVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 327
ley's . orders, were forcibly taken out of the Chesapeake, to
the vessel from which they were taken ; or, if that ship were
no longer in commission, to such seaport of the United States
as the American Government may name for the purpose ; and
that he was authorized to offer to the American Government a
suitable pecuniary provision for the sufferers in consequence of
the attack on the Chesapeake, including the families of those
seamen who fell in the action, and of the wounded survivors.
The President acceded to these propositions ; and the officer
commanding the Chesapeake, then lying in the harbour of
Boston, was instructed to receive the men, who were to be
restored to that ship." — lb., p. 443.
It might be supposed that such a spontaneous, courteous, and
just proceeding on the part of England would have satisfied
even the bellicose President Madison ; but he was bent on
joining the Tyrant of Europe in war against England ; the
American public were kept in ignorance of the instigating
circumstances, and the just and generous conduct of the British
Government in regard to the affair of the Leopard and the
Chesapeake, and availed himself of every occurrence or incident
to excite and increase the war feeling in the United States
asrainst England.
An incident soon occurred answerable to President Madison's
purpose. A renegade by the name of Henri/, who had in youth
emigrated from Ireland, and who had, by the interest of friends,
got appointed captain of militia ; but not succeeding in the
United States to the extent of his ambition, emigrated to
Montreal, where, by some talents and address, and professed love
of British institutions, he ingratiated himself in the good graces
of the principal persons at Montreal, and commenced his studies
at law there, with a view of qualifying himself for a seat on
the judicial bench of Upper Canada, to which he was vain and
ambitious enough to aspire. He at length got access to the
Governor-General, Sir James Craig, into whose confidence he
so wormed himself as to obtain a letter of recognition and
recommendation to visit Massachusetts and other eastern States
to ascertain and report upon the state of feeling there in regard
to the sympathy of those States with England in case of war
with England ; but neither the British Government nor even
Sir James Craig's Canadian Executive Council had the slightest
328 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLVIII.
knowledge of this confidential epistolary intrigue between his
Excellency and the renegade American militia captain, who
professed to be familiar with the politics and parties of the
New England States, where there was vehement opposition
to the democratic and war government of President Madison,
and supposed* to cherish a strong leaning to England. While
this unprincipled " Captain Henry " was sauntering in the
public-houses and brothels of Boston, he wrote from time to
time letters to Sir James Craig and other principal persons in
Quebec; but the Governor and others who received his
ostentatious and pretentious letters — though amused by them —
derived no more information from his epistles than from the
public newspapers of the day. Henry, however, estimated his
own worthless services of the greatest importance ; and failing
to get from Sir James Craig the amount of his demands, he
appealed for compensation to the Government in England. He
addressed a memorial to the Earl of Liverpool, Principal
Secretary of State for the Colonies, stating his services, and
suggesting that the appointment of Judge Advocate General of
Lower Canada, with the salary of £500 per annum, or a con-
sulate in the United States, sine cura, would be considered by
him as a fair discharge of the obligation of the Government to
him for his services. Lord Liverpool was not disposed to
prostitute such favours upon a mercenary and intriguing vagrant,
and referred him to the Government of Lower Canada, then in
charge of Sir George Prevost, who had succeeded Sir James
Craig. Henry knew the little estimate that was placed upon
his services in Canada ; he therefore betook himself back to the
United States, and offered his traitorous letters to the American
Government for $50,000, which he obtained, paid out of the
United States Secret Service Fund.* President Madison,
* " Indignant at this neglectiul treatment, Henry returned to Boston, and
obtained a letter of introduction from Governor Gerry to Madison, to whom
he offered to divulge the whole conspiracy, of which he had been the head and
soul, for a certain sum of money. Madison gave him $50,000, and the
swindler embarked for France. There is but little doubt that Henry made
a fool of the Governor of Canada, and completely overreached the President.
The publication of the correspondence, however, increased the hatred both
against the Federalists and the English nation." [The object President
Madison had in view.] (Headley's History of the War of 1812 — 1815 with
England, p. 49.)
CHAP. XLVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. ) 329
instead of laying the correspondence before the British Govern-
ment for explanation and satisfaction, communicated it to
Congress, as a discovery and illustration of a conspiracy by the
British Government to subvert the Constitution and Govern-
ment of the United States, and by his message inflamed the
Congress to the highest pitch of excitement, in the climax of
which he got a vote in favour of a declaration of war against
Great Britain. The President, in his messasje to Conorress,
referring to the Henry documents said : " They prove that at
a recent period, while the United States, notwithstanding the
wrongs sustained by them, ceased not to observe the laws of
neutrality towards Great Britain, and in the midst of amicable
professions and negotiations on the part of the British Govern-
ment through its public Minister here [Mr. Erskine], a secret
agent of that Government was employed in certain States —
more especially at the seat of government in Massachusetts —
in fomenting disaffection to the constituted authorities of the
nation, and in intrigues with the disaffected, for the purpose of
bringing about resistance to the laws, and eventually, in concert
with a British force, of destroying the Union, and forming the
eastern part thereof into a political connection with England."
Two days before the transmission of President Madison's
message of accusation against England, the British Minister at
Washington declared in the public prints his entire ignorance
of any transaction of the kind, and asked the United States
Government to consider the character of the individual who
had made these disclosures,* and to " suspend any further
* " The Henry Plot- (as it was denominated) was clamoured through
America as a crime of tlie deepest dye on the part of Great Britain, tending
to disorganize the Government, to dismember the Union, and to destroy the
independence of the States. The fictitious and exaggerated importance
which the American Government affected to attach to this trival matter had,
however, some influence in confirming the .spirit of hostility towards Great
Britain which at that time pervaded America, and shortly after broke out
in open war. This self-sufficient miscreant having, as he fancied, taken
ample vengeance upon the Government of his native country, could not,
with anv degree of decencv, remain in the States, from whence he sailed
for France in an American sloop-of-war, carrying with him the reward of
his treason and the universal contempt of mankind." (Christie's History of
the War of 1812, p. 55.)
Yet, at this very time, there were American and French emissaries in both
330 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLVIJI.
judgment on its merits until the circumstances shall have been
made known to his Majesty's Government." But such fairness
to England did not answer President Madison's purpose to
get himself re-elected President, by exciting hostility and
declaring war against England.
the Canadas (as the proclamations of the Governors show), with a view of
exciting disaffection to the British Canadian Government, in order to wrest
the Canadas from Enghind and subject them to France and the United
States.
" The Americans had been declaring, for several years, that they would
take the provinces. They had even boasted of the ease with which the
intended conquest could be made by them whenever they pleased. They
believed, or pretended to believe, that the majority of the people, owing to
dissensions and a desire to be free from the mother country, would not take
part against them in this contest with Great Britain." (Dr. Miles' History
of Canada, Part III., Chap, iii., p. 201.)
CHAP, XLIX.] AND THEIR TIMES, 331
CHAPTER XLIX.
Declaration of War by the United States against Great Britain,
AND Preparations for the Invasion op Canada.
The Bill for declaring war against Britain passed the Con-
gress June IStli, 1812, after protracted discussions: by the
House of Congress, by a majority of forty — seventy-nine to
thirty -nine — by the Senate, by a majority of six.* The vote
* In the report of the Committee recommending the Bill for the declara-
tion, it was, of course, attempted to make England the aggressive and the
United States the injiired party. " On presentation of this report," says
Lossing, " the doors were closed, and a motion to open them was denied by
a vote of seventy-seven against forty-nine. Mr. Calhonn [the democratic
leader of the war party of the South] then presented a Bill, as part of the
report, declaring war between Great Britain and her dependencies and the
United States and its territories. Amendments were offered. Ten votes
were given for a proposition by Mr. McKee, of Kentucky, to include
France. Mr. Quincy (of Boston) endeavoured, by an addition to the Bill, to
provide for the repeal of all restrictive laws bearing upon commerce ; and
John Randolph, of Virginia, moved to postpone the whole matter until the
following October. All were rejected, and the Bill, as Mr. Calhoun pre-
sented it, was passed on the 4th day of June by a vote of seventy-nine for
it and thirty-nine against it.
" When the Bill reached the Senate it was referred to a Committee already
appointed to consider the President's message. It remained under discus-
sion twelve days. Meanwhile the people throughout the country were fear-
fully excited by conflicting emotions. A memorial against the war went
from the Legislature of Massachusetts ; and another from the merchants of
New York, led by John Jacob Astor. War-meetings were held in various
places, and the whole country was in a tumult of excitement. Finally, on
the 17th of June, the Bill, with some amendments, was passed in the
Senate by a vote of nineteen against thirteen. It was sent back to the
House on the morning of the 18th, when the amendments were concurred in.
332 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLLX .
for the declaration of war was a purel}^ party vote ; the war
itself was a purely partizan war — the carrying out of intrigue
between the American Democratic President and the French
despoiler of Europe — a war against the intelligence and patriot-
ism of the American people, as well as against the independence
and liberties of nations ; a war in which the very selection
of generals and officers were, as a general rule, partizan ap-
pointments.*
The Bill was engrossed on parchment, and at three o'clock in the afternoon
of that day became law by the signature of the President [who next day
declared war against Great Britain]. In the House, the members from
Pennsylvania, and the States of the South and West, gave sixty-two votes
for it to seventeen against it. In the Senate, the same States gave fourteen
for it, to five against it. ' Thus,' says a late writer [Edwin Williams], " the war
may be said to have been a measvire of the South and West to take care of
the interests of the North, much against the will of the latter.' " (Lossing's
Field Book of the War of 1812, Chap, xi., pp. 227, 228.)
The minority of the members of the House of Representatives who voted
against the war, addressed a protest, signed by them all, to their constituents,
exposing the impolicy and objects of the war, and indicating their own
conduct. We quote two sentences of this able paper :
" As to the invasion and seizure of Canada, which was a part of the
programme of the war party, they considered an attempt to carry out that
measure as unjust and impolitic in itself, very uncertain in the issue, and
unpromising as to any good results." — " It cannot be concealed that to engage
in the present war against England is to place ourselves on the side of
France, and expose us to the vassalage of States serving under the banner of
the French Emperor."
* The distinguished Joseph Quincy, of Boston, leader of the Federalist
party, said, in his place in Congress, " I have evidence satisfactory in my
own mind, that the Secretary of War has made it a principle not to appoint
any man to a command in that army who is not an open partizan of the exist-
ing Administration. If it be denied, appoint a Committee of Inquiry. If
the intention had been to imite the nation as one man against a foreign
enemy, is not this the last policy that any Administration ought ever to have
adopted 1 Is not a partizan army the most dreadful and detestable of all
engines, and most likely to awaken suspicions and to inspire discontent?"
(Hildreth, Second Series, Vol. III., Chap, xxi., p, 123.)
" The place of the first major-general, with the command of the Northern
Department, had been given to the petted favourite, Henry Dearborn, late
Secretary of War, and, since Madison's accession, collector of the port of
Boston — a lucrative post, kept in his family by his son's appointment to it." —
" Wilkinson, the senior brigadier, just acquitted by court-martial of long-
pending charges against him, had been sent to New Orleans [afterwards to
Canada] to relieve Hampton [who was afterwards sent to Canada], whose
CHAP. XLIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 333
The war party consisted largely of the mob or refuse of the
nation — of those who had nothing to lose and everything to
gain by such a war — facts which will go far to account, with
three or four exceptions, for the inferior character of the
American generals and officers in the war ; men appointed to
offices for which they had no qualifications, and to situations in
which they could, without stint, rob their country of its money,
if not of its reputation.
In New York, a Convention of delegates from several counties
of the State was held at Albany, on the l7th and 18th days of
September, 1812, in which the war was denounced as unjustifi-
able, unprincipled, and unpatriotic, and as subservient, simply
subservient to the cause of the French Emperor against
England.*
command there had been a constant scene of collision and tiirmoil with
his officers. Commissions as brigadiers, under the late Acts, had been given
to Bloomfield, Governor of New Jersey ; to James Winchester, of Tennessee ;
and to Hull, Governor of Michigan Territory. * * Hai^pton and Smythe
had been civilians for more than thirty years, and were indebted for their
present appointments rather to political than to military considerations. Of
the inferiors of the old army, presently distinguished, Alexander MacNab, of
the Engineers, was now a colonel, and Winfield Scott and Edmund Gaines
lieutenant-colonels. A lieutenant-colonelcy in one of the new regiments
had been given to Eleazar W. Ripley, a young Democrat from Maine, who
had succeeded Storey, of the late Democratic Massachusetts House of Repre-
sentatives. Ripley's subsequent conduct justitied his appointment ; but the
colonel of that same regiment was afterwards cashiered for peculation ; and
as few of the new regimental officers had any military knowledge, so num-
bers of them were quite destitute of those qualities without which even
that knowledge would have been of little avail." (Hildreth's History of
the United States, Second Series, Voh III., Chap, xxiv., pp. 308 — 310.)
* " The following are extracts from the resolutions of this famous Con-
vention :
" Taking solely into consideration the time and circumstances of the
declaration of the present war, the condition of the country, and state of the
public mind, we are constrained to consider, and feel it our duty to pro-
nounce it a most rash, unwise, and inexpedient measure, the adoption of
which ought forever to deprive its authors of the esteem and confidence of
an enlightened people ; because, as the injuries we have received from
France are at least equal in amount to those we have sustained from Eng-
land, and have been attended with circumstances of still greater insult and
aggravation, if war were necessary to vindicate the honour of the country,
consistency and impartiality required that both nations should have been
included in the declaration ; because, if it were deemed expedient to exercise
334 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLIX.
The address of the House of Representatives of the State of
Massachusetts presented in a still stronger light and with un-
answerable argument the causes of this unjust and cruel war,
as wanton and unprovoked, and the climax of the various out-
rages committed against Great Britain.
Yet even the English Orders in Council — made the pretext
for the war by President Madison and his partizans — impolitic
as those Orders were on the part of England, being founded
not on sound national policy, but dictated by revenge on
Napoleon on account of his Berlin and Milan decrees for the
destruction of British commerce — even these British Orders in
Council were actually a source of profit to American merchants
our right of selecting our adversary, prudence and common sense dictated
tiie choice of an enemy fioiu wliose hostility we had nothing to dread. A
war with France would equally have satisfied our insulted honour, and at
the same time, instead of annihilating, would have revived and extended our
commerce ; and even the evils of such a contest would have been mitigated
by the sublime consolation, that, by our efforts, we were contributing to
arrest the progress of despotism in Europe, and essentially serving the great
interests of freedom and humanity throughout the world;" * * "because,
before the war was declared, it was perfectly well ascertained that a vast
majority of the people in the JVliddle and Northern States, by whom the
burden and expenses of the war must be borne almost exclusively, wern
strongly opposed to the measure." * *
" Whereas the late revocation of British Orders in Council (a) has re-
moved the great and ostensible cause of the present war, and prepared the
way for an immediate accommodation of existing differences, inasmuch as, by
the concession of the present Secretary of State, satislactory and honour-
able arrangements might easily be made, by which abuses resulting from
the impressment of our seamen might in futuie be effectually prevented.
Therefore,
" Resolved, — That we shall be constrained to consider the determination
on the part of our rulers to continue the present war, after olhcial
notice of revocation of the British Orders in Council, as affording conclusive
evidence that the war has been undertaken from motives entirely distinct
from those which have been hitherto avowed, and for the promotion of
objects wholly unconnected with the interest and honour of America.
" Eesolved, — That we contemplate with abhorrence even the possibility of
an alliance with the present Emperor of France, every action of whose life
has demonstrated, that the attainment, by any means, of universal empire,
(a) These Orders in Council were cancelled five days after President Madi-
son's declaration of war — weeks before that declaration could have been
known in England.
4:hap. xlix.] and their times. 335
from the indulgent way in which they were administered by
the British authorities. The American historian, Hildreth, says :
"The comparative indulgence of the British, their willing-
ness to allow to Americans a certain margin of profitable
employment, contrasted very favourably in the minds of ship-
owners with the totally anti-commercial system of France.
Forgetting their late pretensions to a neutral trade, perfectly
unshackled, and the loud outcry they had raised against Britisn
invasions of it, they were now ready, with characteristic com-
mercial prudence, to accept as much of the views of British
Ministers and merchants still left within their reach. A trade
still pi-olitable, however shackled and curtailed, they regarded
as decidedly preferable to no. trade at all. In fact, by the
calculations of eminent merchants, fully confirmed by subse-
quent experience, the trade still allowed under the British
Orders, while far more profitable, was also quite as extensive
as there could be any reasonable expectation of enjoying after
the restoration of general peace.
" The merchants and ship-owners had, however, but a limited
infiuence over public opinion. Their vast profits of late years
had made them objects of enyy. Though their accumulations
were but an index of the general enrichment of the nation, there
were multitudes who more or less openly rejoiced over their
present distress [arising from the American embargo.] Unfor-
tunately, too, they were divided among themselves. ISome
even of the wealthiest of their number were among those who
applauded the embargo, of which conduct this not very chari-
table explanation was given : that it would enable those who
and the couseq^uent extinction of every vestige of freedom, are the sole
objects of his incessant, unbounded, and remorseless ambition. His arms,
with tlie spirit of freemen, we miglit openly and fearlessly encounter ; but
of his secret arts, his corrupting iiitiuences, we entertain a di'ead we can
neither conquer nor conceal, it is therefore with the utmost distrust and
alarm tliat we regard his late professions of attachment and love to the
American people, fully recollecting that his invariable course has been, by
perhdious otters of protection, by deceitful professions of friendship, to lull
his intended victims into the fatal sleep of confidence and security, during
which the chains of despotism are silently wound round and riveted on
them.
(Signed) " Jacob Morris, President.
" William Henderson, Secretary."
336 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. XLIX.
were able to wait for the revival of trade to buy up at a great
discount the ships and produce of their poorer neighbours."*
President Madison having declared a professedly defensive
war against Great Britain for the purpose of defending mari-
time rights on the Atlantic Ocean, commenced by invading
Canada in three " Grand Armies." The one was the Grand
Army of the West, consisting of 5,000 men, under General Hull,
and the base of whose operations was Detroit ; the second was
the Grand Army of the Centre, under the command of General
Van Rensellaer, consisting of 5,000, which was to operate against
Canada from Lewiston ; and the third, but first in command, was
the Grand Army of the North, under General Dearborn
consisting of 10,000 men, to operate from Lake Champlain
against Montreal and the rest of Lower Canada,
Such, then, was the declaration of war against England by
President Madison and his democratic faction ; such were the
false pretensions for the war ; such was the confederacy be-
tween the democratic President of the United States and the
Tyrant of Europe against the liberties of mankind, under pre-
tence of war with England ; such was the noble opposition of
the States of New York and New England to that unholy
coalition between the American President and the oppressor of
Europe against human liberty — States which had been the
head and the sinews and the backbone of American resistance
to Great Britain during the struggle for American independence,
and which, having achieved that independence, abhorred being
buccaneers against the independence of Canada, and the acquisi-
tion of the Indian territories of the West and North of the
United States.
* Hildretii's History of the United States, Second Series, Vol. III., Chap,
xxi., pp. 86, 87.
CHAP. L.] AND THEIR TIMES. 337
CHAPTER L.
Pkeparations by Canada against the American Invasions.
1. lower canada.
It now becomes our duty to state the preparations made by the
Canadians for their own defence against the American invasions.
Though so few in number and modest in pretensions to their
multitudinous and boasting invaders, they had the hearts of free-
men and patriots, and trusted to the Divine blessing in the
justness of their cause.* We shall notice first the prepara-
tions of Lower Canada, and then those of Upper Canada.
Sir George Prevost, in the autumn of 1811, succeeded Sir
James H. Craig in the government of Lower Canada, and in
the chief command of the North American provinces. He had
been Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. The known mild-
ness of his character, and the popularity of his administration
* " A war with Great Britain had been long contemplated by the rulers
in America, and a seasonable moment only was sought for, to grasp the
provinces which they had fallaciously been induced to believe were ripe for
revolt, and would therefore fall a -willing conquest to America. The
Peninsular war had engrossed the attention and resources of the mother
country, and the Canadas were necessarily the less provided with means to
encoiinter the struggle in which they were likely soon to be engaged. The
coffers were exhausted, nor were hopes entertained of their being speedily
replenished from home ; the regular forces were too thin to preserve an
extensive frontier of some hundred miles against the pressure of an enemy
which, if united, must become irresistible ; and the Canadians, though
naturally brave and hardy, and attached to their Constitution, might from
recent occurrences be fairly presumed to have been so far disgusted as to
leave doubt of their hearty co-operation and zeal in the cause." (Christie's
History of the War of 1812, Chap, iii., p. 48.)
VOL. II. — 22
338 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [^^HAi'. L.
in Nova Scotia, caused his arrival at Quebec to be heartily
welcomed by the friends of just and liberal government. The
narrow-mindedness and harshness of Sir James Craig's adminis-
tration had caused, serious agitation and differences in Lower
Canada, which Sir George Prevost, by his impartiality and
kindness, soon succeeded in allaying and reconciling. He called
the first meeting of the Legislature on the 21st of February,
1812, and, in his opening speech, stated that he had hastened, in
obedience to his orders, to assume the administration of Lower
Canada ; congratulated the Legislature on the brilliant achieve-
ments of the British arms in rescuing Portugal and Spain
" from the t3rranny of the Ruler of France ; " and recommended
an increased and unremitted care and vigilance in securing the
country from either open invasion or insidious aggression, and
hoped the Parliament would testify its loyalty by an early
attention to those Acts which experience had proved essential
for the preservation of his Majesty's government, as also by its
readiness in supplying the Government with such aid as should
be suitable to the exigence of the times, by enabling the
loyal Canadian subjects to assist in repelling any sudden attack
made by a tumultuary invasion, and effectually to participate in
the defence of their country against a regular invasion at any
future period.
The Assembly, in answer, among other things assured the
Governor that they would give attention to those acts recom-
mended by him. The Assembly passed a Militia Bill, by which
the Governor was authorized to embody 2,000 unmarried men,
between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five years, for three
months in the year ; and in case of invasion or imminent
danger, to retain them for one year, relieving one-half the
number embodied, by fresh drafts at the expiration of that
period. In the event of war, invasion, insurrection, or im-
minent danger thereof, he was empowered to embody the whole
militia of the province, should it become necessary. No sub-
stitutes were allowed,** nor commissioned officers permitted
to take any militiamen for their servants, under a penalty of
£10 for every offence of that nature. These provisions, from
their harshness and inconsistency, were, however, winked at in
practice. It was penal to enlist any militiamen into the regular
forces, and such enlistments were declared null.
CHAP. L.] AND THEIR TIMES. 339
Twelve thousand pounds were granted by the Legislature,
one moiety thereof for drilling and training the local militia,
the other moiety for other purposes of the Militia Act. Twenty
thousand pounds were granted to be employed for such services
as the safety of the province and the exigence of the times
might require. And a further sum of thirty thousand pounds
currency, to be at the Governor's disposal in case of war between
Great Britain and America.
These liberal supplies enabled the Government to meet the ap-
proaching crisis with confidence in the patriotism and support of
the Provincial Legislature, and the whole mass of the Canadian
population. In closing the session, the Governor thanked the
House for the labour they had bestowed upon the improvement
of the militia system, and for the increased means thereby
afforded him for the defence of the province. He also ex-
pressed his best thanks for the proofs he had received of their
confidence in his administration, by the liberal provision they
had made for the exigencies of the public service.*
After the declaration of war by President Madison, June
19th, 1812, which was made known at Quebec the 28th of
* Christie's History of the War of 1812, Chap, iii., pp. 49—53.
" Tlie Governor, by a General Order of the 28th of May, 1812, organized
four battalions of embodied militia, in virtue of the late Act. The first
battalion rendezvoused at Point-aux-Trembles, near Quebec, under the com-
mand of Colonel De Salaberry ; the second at Laprairie, near Montreal,
commanded by Colonel De Rouville ; the third at Berthier, in the district of
Montreal, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Cuthbert ; and the fourth at
St. Thomas, near Quebec, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Taschereau.
The alacrity with which they Avere filled, and the cheerfulness with which
the young men submitted to the restraints of discipline, reflected credit upon
the military character of the Canadians. This proof of the zeal and the
loyalty of the people inspired Government with hopes of successful resist-
ance against the approaching war, and- a reciprocal confidence between
the Governor and the people seems to have resulted, as much from the danger
of the moment as from any studied policy on the part of the present
Administration. They who had incurred the displeasure of the late Govern-
ment were treated ■wdth confidence, and gilidually appointed to situations
of trust.
"A regiment of Canadian Voltigeurs was recruited, and placed under
the command of Major De Salaberry, of the 60th Regiment of Foot, which
in the course of the war became eminent for discipline and its steadiness in
action, as well as for the fatiguing duties on which it was unremittingly
employed." — Ih., pp. 55, 56.
340 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. L.
June, a notification was immediately made by the police
that all Americans must leave Quebec by the 1st of July, and
be out o£ the district by the 3rd of the same month. On the
last day of June the period was extended by the Governor's
proclamation ; fourteen days were allowed to such Americans
as were in the province, they being principally persons who
had entered the same in good faith, and in prosecution of com-
mercial pursuits.
" On the same day a proclamation issued imposing an em-
bargo upon the shipping in port, and convoking the House
of Assembly on the 16th of July."*
" At the opening of the session, the Governor, after inform-
ing the Legislature of the recent declaration of war by the
United States against Great Britain, expressed his reliance upon
the spirit of his Majesty's subjects in the province, their loyalty
to their Sovereign, and their ardent love for the true interests of
their country ; and that he should depend implicitly, under Divine
Providence, upon their best exertions, aided by the courage and
loyalty of the militia, and by the valour, skill, and discipline of
his Majesty's regular forces, for repelling every hostile attempt
that might be made upon the colony. He observed with con-
cern that the necessary establishment of the militia forces,
together with the various services and operations of the
approaching campaign, would be attended with considerable
expense, but that he relied upon their wisdom and pviblic spirit
for such supplies as the exigencies of affairs might be found to
require : he at the same time expressed his approbation of the
embodied militia, and his confidence in their increased discipline,
which encouraged an expectation that they would materially
contribute to the defence of their country." * *
" A Bill to Facilitate the Circulation of Army Bills was intro-
duced, and the liberality of the House of Assembly surpassed
the hopes of the Executive. Fifteen thousand pounds were
granted to pay the interest that might become due upon army
bills, of which £250,000 were authorized to be put in circula-
tion (large bills of twenty -five dollars and upwards bearing
interest at the rate of fourpence per day for every hundred
pounds). They were made current in the revenue, were to
* Christie's History of the War of 1812, Chap, iii., pp. 36, 37.
CHAP. L.] AND THEIR TIMES. 341
have the effect of a legal tender, and were redeemable at the
Army Bill Office, either in cash or Government bills of
exchange on London, at the option of the commander of the
forces. Small bills of four dollars were at all times payable in
cash at the Army Bill Office. On the 1st day of August, 1812,
this Bill received the royal sanction, and the Governor pro-
rogued the Parliament, with acknowledgments for the liberal
aid they had granted him to meet the exigencies of the public
service."*
Such were the provisions made spontaneously, and with
wonderful unanimity, in Lower Canada for the defence of the
province against the impending American invasion. These
provisions were prior to corresponding provisions made in Upper
Canada, and the statement of which has been made in so much
detail that the English reading public might be reminded, or
informed, of what has been too little known — the loyalty,
liberality, and courage of the French as well as of the English
inhabitants of Lower Canada, from the very beginning of the
contest, and followed by deeds of heroism and fortitude (to be
noticed hereafter), which successfully repelled successive Ameri-
can invasions, and prevented the American armies, ten times as
numerous as the Voltigeurs and all other Canadian volunteers,
from gaining a single foothold in Lower Canada.
O O r^
2. UPPER CANADA.
Upper Canada was not second to Lower Canada. Sir Francis
Gore left for England in 1811, and was succeeded by General
Brock as President of Upper Canada, and commander of the
forces, who called the Legislature together as early as possible
after the declaration of war. Colonel John Clarke, Adjutant-
General of Militia, in his manuscripts (with the use of which I
have been favoured by the learned and excellent librarian of
the Dominion at Ottawa, entitled " U. E. Papers"), says:
" Whilst the Americans were busily preparing for the cam-
paign, we were not idle in Canada. On the 27th of July, 1812,
General Brock proceeded to York and called a meeting of the
Legislature, to which he delivered an animated and spirited
address, concluding with the following remarkable words :
" ' We are engaged in an awful and eventful contest.
'■a^o^
* Christie's History of the War of 1812, Chap, iii., pp. 57—60.
342 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. L.
" ' By unanimity and dispatch in our councils, and by vigour
in our operations, we may teach the enemy this lesson, that a
country defended by Free Men, enthusiastically devoted to
the cause of their King and Constitution, cannot be con-
quered.' "
The Legislature heartily responded to the noble appeal of
General Brock at the opening of the session ; passed the neces-
sary Acts for the, security of the country, for the organization
and training of the militia, and for the expenses and support of
the war, and concluding their work by an earnest and patriotic
address to the people of Upper Canada. We will extract some
passages of this "Address of the House of Assembly to the
People of Upper Canada, on the Declaration of War." This
powei-ful address, which occupies twelve pages, is signed " Allan
MacLean, Speaker," and dated " Commons House of Assembly,
August 5th, 1812" — just ten days before General Brock took
Detroit :
" The House of Assembly having nearly completed the
necessary business for which they were called together, beg
leave, before they return home, to lift up their warning voice
at this eventful crisis. The declaration of war issued against
Great Britain by the United States, when first announced,
appeared to be an act of such astonishing folly and desperation
as to be altogether incredible, and not only excited the great-
est surprise among the inhabitants of this province, but among
the great majority of our enemies themselves. That that Gov-
ernment, professing to be the- friend of man and the great
supporter of his liberty and independence, should light
up the torch of war against the only nation that stands
between itself and destruction, exhibited a degree of in-
fatuation or madness, altogether incomprehensible. But the
men at present ruling the States, infatuated, or, as their
more enlightened countrymen say, ' bribed by the Tyrant of
France,' regardless of the best interests of their country, and
the feelings and affections of a great majority of their own
people, have commenced hostilities against our mother country
whilst treating their vessels with hospitality, and instead
of threatening their liberties, offering most equitable terms of
accommodation.
" This war, on the part of the United States, includes
CHAP. L.] AND THEIR TIMES. 343
an alliance with the French usurper, whose dreadful policy
has destroyed all that is great and good, memorable and
holy, on the continent of Europe. The government of
this bloody tjrrant penetrates into everything ; it crushes
individuals as well as nations ; fetters thoughts as well as
motives ; and delights in destroying forever all that is fair and
just in opinion and sentiment. It is evidently this tyrant who
now directs the rulers of America, and they show themselves
worthy disciples of such a master." * *
" We turn with joy to you, many of whom have already
risked your lives for the unity of the empire. We are con-
fident that the saime spirit still animates your breasts and those
of your children — that you still retain the same love of your
excellent King, the same veneration for a free and happy
Constitution, that you exhibited during the American war. * *
When we picture to ourselves the sublime prospect the world
would have exhibited this day, had the population of the
neighbouring States preserved, like you, their filial love, we
should not now behold the continent of Europe groaning under
the yoke of a sanguinary tyrant, nor his satellites in America
studiously imitating his example.
" It is therefore from former experience that we look to you
for the same patriotic principles — principles which enabled you
to face death in its most dreadful attire — principles which
exalt human nature, and which have been warmly cherished by
the most virtuous and renowned of every age ; and surely
when we are attacked by the same enemies who once, aided by
the mistaken lenity of the mother country and the misconduct
of her commanders, were able to drive us from our native
homes and possessions to this province — a people whose lands
are manured with the blood of our friends and kinsmen, who
drove our wives and children from their homes in the woods,
or threw them into dungeons, and who now envy us the habita-
tions which, through the blessing of Providence, the beneficence
of our parent state, and our own industry, we have gained from
the wilderness, we are confident that you will display the same
energy, and certainly with better hopes of success. Great
Britain will not now consider such Americans as perverse
children who may be reclaimed, but as her most malignant
344 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. L.
foes. Her commanders will not, as formerly, temporize and
raise hosts of enemies by their misconduct and delays, but they
will hasten to punish them with all the rigour of war.
"Already have we the joy to remark, that the spirit of
loyalty has burst forth in all its ancient splendour. The militia
in all parts of the province have volunteered their services
with acclamation, and displayed a degree of energy worthy of
the British name. * * When men are called upon to defend
everything they call precious — their wives and children, their
friends and possessions — they ought to be inspired with the
noblest resolutions, and they will not be easily frightened
by menaces, or conquered by force. And beholding, as we
do, the flame of patriotism burning from one end of the
Canadas to the other, we cannot but entertain the most
pleasing anticipations.
" Our enemies have indeed said that they could subdue this
country by Proclamation ; but it is our part to prove to them
that they are sadly mistaken — that the population is deter-
minedly hostile to them, and that the few who might be other-
wise inclined will find it their safety to be faithful. * *
" Innumerable attempts will be made by falsehood to detach
you from your allegiance ; for our enemies, in imitation of their
European master, trust more to treachery than to force ; and
they will, no doubt, make use of many of those lies, which,
unfortunately for the virtuous part of these States, and the
peace and happiness of the world, had too much success during
the American rebellion : they will tell you that they are come
to give you freedom — yes, the base slaves of the most con-
temptible faction that ever distracted the affairs of any nation
— the minions of the very sycophants who lick the dust from
the feet of Bonaparte will tell you that they are come to
communicate the blessing of liberty to this province ; but you
have only to look at your own situation to put such hypocrites
to confusion. * *
" Trusting more to treachery than to open hostility, our
enemies have already spread their emissaries through the
country, to seduce our fellow-subjects from their allegiance,
by promises as false as the principles on which they are
founded. A law has been enacted for the speedy detec-
CHAP. L.] AND THEIR TIMES. 345
tion of such emissaries, and for their condign punishment
on conviction."*
" Remember, when you go forth to the combat, that you fight
not for yourselves alone, but for the whole world. You are
defeating the most formidable conspiracy against the civiliza-
tion of man that was ever contrived ; a conspiracy threatening
greater barbarism' and misery than followed the downfall of the
Roman Empire — that now you have an opportunity of proving
your attachment to the parent state, which contends for the
relief of oppressed nations — the last pillar of true liberty, and
the last refuge of oppressed humanity.
(Signed) " Allan MacLean,
"Speaker, Commons House of Assembly, August 5th, 1812."
The efiect of this manly and animated address to the people
of Upper Canada was most beneficial, and contributed greatly
to unite and encourage the people to face the struggle impend-
ing over them. There was no inflated boasting — no under-
valuing of danger and sacrifice, but a plain statement of facts,
and a heartfelt appeal to loyalty, patriotism, and manly courage.
* Colonel Clarke remarks that " the moderation of the different Acta which
were then passed, for the preservation and defence of the province, is an
additional proof that internal treachery was not one of the causes which
were found."
346 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LI.
CHAPTER LI.
First American Invasion of Upper Canada by General Hull, from
Detroit, whose Proclamation " To the Inhabitants of Canada "
IS given entire, and General Brock's Noble Answer to it, in
AN Address to the People of Upper Canada.
In the meantime Canada, in its western extremity, had been
invaded. The American Government had been for several
months collecting an army of some 3,000 or 4,000 regular
troops and militia, around and west of Detroit, in order to
strike a blow upon Canada the moment war should be declared.
General Hull was the Governor of the territory of Michigan,
and Commander-in-Chief of the " Grand Army of the West."
On the 12th of July he crossed the River Detroit with a force
of 2,500 of the above troops, and a strong park of artillery, and
planted the American standard on the shores of Canada, at
Sandwich. He forthwith issued a pretentious, inflated, cajol-
ing, patronising, threatening proclamation to the inhabitants
of Canada, and pronouncing instant death to any one who
should be fighting in company with the Indians, while at the
same time the Americans were employing in their army all the
Indians they could induce to join them. The American demo-
cratic party which ruled at Washington had persecuted and
driven the fathers of Canada from their homes in the United
States, and had always been the enemies of their peace and
prosperity in Canada ; yet they were under the strange delusion
that the people of Canada must be still as much in love with
them as they were with themselves, and that the magnetism of
their star-spangled banner planted in Canada would draw all
CHAP, LI,] AND THEIR TIMES, 347
Canadians to it; that an address from their commanding
general would supply the place of armies, and that taking
Canada would be but a holiday march, in which, as their
language of the time was, they would "breakfast at Sandwich,
take dinner at York (Toronto), and sup at Montreal." It was
in this spirit of vanity and delusion that General Hull issued
his famous proclamation, on his landing at Sandwich, and which
I give entire in a note.*
* The following is General Hull's Proclamation :
" Head-quarters, Sandwich, 12th July, 1812.
"Inhabitants of Canada, —
" After thirty years of peace and prosperity, the United States have been
driven to arms. The injuries and aggressions, the insults and indignities of
Great Britain have once more left them no alternative but manly resistance
or unconditional submission. The army under my command lias invaded
your country. The standard of the Union now waves over the territory of
Canada. To the peaceable, unoffending inhabitants it brings neither danger
nor difficulty. I come to find enemies, not to make them ; I come to pro-
tect, not to injure you. •
" Separated by an immense ocean and an extensive wilderness from Great
Britain, you have no participation in her councils, nor interest in her con-
duct. You have felt her tyranny ; you have seen her injustice ; but I do not
ask you to avenge the one, or to redress the other. The United States are
sufficiently powerful to afford every security consistent with their and your
expectations. I tender you the invaluable blessings of civil, religious, and
political liberty, and their necessary result — individual and general pros-
perity ; that liberty which gave decision to our councils and energy to our
conduct, in a struggle for independence — which conducted us safely and
triumphantly through the stormy period of the revolution — the liberty which
has raised us to our elevated rank among the nations of the world, and
which afforded us a greater measure of peace and security, of wealth and
improvement, than ever fell to the lot of any people.
" In the name of my country and the authority of Government, I promise
you protection to your persons, property, and rights. "Remain at your homes ;
pursue your peaceful and customary avocations ; raise not your hands
against your brethren. Many of your fathers fought for the freedom and
independence we now enjoy. Being children, therefore, of the same
family with us, and heirs of the same heritage, the arrival of an army of
friends must be hailed by you with a cordial welcome. You will be emanci-
pated from tyrcinny and oppression, and restored to the dignified status of
freemen.
" Had I any doubt of eventual success, I might ask your assistance ; but I
348 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LI,
In a noble address to the people of Upper Canada, General
Erock answered the proclamation of General Hull, repelling
and exposing with overwhelming power his misstatements, and
answering with withering sarcasm General Hull's attack upon
the Indians, and the " barbarous and savage policy of Great
Britain" in recognizing the Indians as allies and fellow-subjects,
and their right to defend their homes and liberties against
American invasion and rapine. We present the reader with the
following extracts of this masterly address, transcribed from
the manuscripts of the Dominion Library at Ottawa.
do not. I come prepared for every contingency — I have a force which will
break down all opposition, and that force is but the vanguard of a much
greater. If, contrary to your own interest, and the just expectations of my
country, you should take part in the approaching contest, you will be con-
sidered and treated as enemies, and the horrors and calamities of war will
stalk before you.
" If the barbarous and savage policy of Great Britain be pursued, and the
savages are let loose to murder our citizens, and butcher our women and
children, this war will be a war of extermination. The first stroke of the
tomahawk, the first attempt with the scalping knife, will be the signal of
one indiscriminate scene of desolation. No white man found fighting by
the side of an Indian will be taken prisoner — instant death will be his lot.
If the dictates of reason, duty, justice, and humanity, cannot prevent the
employment of a force which respects no rights, and knows no wrongs, it
will be prevented by a severe and relentless system of retaliation.
" I doubt not your courage and firmness. I will not doubt your attach-
ment to liberty. If you tender your services voluntarily, they will be
accepted readily. The United States offer you peace, liberty, and security.
Your chance lies between these and war, slavery, and destruction. Choose,
then, but choose wisely ; and may He who knows the justice of our cause,
and who holds in His hands the fate of nations, guide you to a result
the most compatible with your rights and interests, your peace and
happiness.
" By the General,
" A. P. Hull."
Note. — It is a curious commentary on the above proclamation, that within
six weeks of its being so pompously put forth. General Hull himself, with all
his army, was a prisoner in the hands of the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper
Canada, to whom was surrendered nearly 3,000 prisoners, Fort Detroit, an
immense quantity of arms and munitions of war, together with the whole
territory of Michigan, and the secured alliance of the numerous Indian
tribes to the west and north.
CHAP. LI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 349
In the course of his Address to the People of Canada, General
Brock says :
" The unprovoked declaration of war by the United States of
America against Great Britain and Ireland and its dependen-
cies, has been followed by the actual invasion of this Province,
in a remote frontier of the Western District, by a detachment of
the armed force of the United States.
" The officer commanding that detachment [General Hull] has
thought proper to invite his Majesty's subjects not merely to a
quiet and unresisting submission, but insults them by offering
with a call to seek the protection of his Government.
" Without condescending to notice the epithets bestowed, in
this appeal of the American commander to the people of Upper
Canada, on the administration of his Majesty, every inhabitant
of the Province is desired to seek the confutation of such
indecent slander in the review of his own particular circum-
stances.
" Where is the Canadian subject who can truly affirm to him-
self that he has been injured by the Government in his person,
his property, or his liberty ?
" Where is to be found in any part of the world a growth so
rapid in prosperity and wealth as this colony exhibits ? Settled
not thirty years, by a band of veterans exiled from their
former possessions on account of their loyalty, not a descendant
of these brave people is to be found who has not, under the
fostering care of their Sovereign, acquired a property and
means of enjoyment superior to what were possessed by their
ancestors.
" This unequalled prosperity would not have been attained
by the utmost liberality of the Government or the perse-
vering industry of the people, had not the maritime power
of the mother country secured to the colonists a safe access
to every market where the produce of their labour was in
request. * *
" The restitution of Canada to the empire of France was the
stipulated reward for the aid afforded to the revolted colonies,
now the United States. The debt is still due ; and there can
be no doubt but that the pledge has been renewed as a con-
sideration for commercial advantages, or rather for an ex-
850 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LI.
pected relaxation in the tyranny of France over the commercial
world.
" Are you prepared, inhabitants of Canada, to become willing
subjects, or slaves, to the Despot who rules the natioas of
continental Europe with a rod of iron ?
" If not, arise in a body ; exert your energies ; co-operate
cordially with the King's regular forces to repel the invader,
and do not give cause to your children, when groaning under
the oppression of a Foreign Master, to reproach you with having
so easily parted with the richest inheritance of this earth — a
participation in the name, character, and freedom of Britons.
* * *
" Be not dismayed at the unjustifiable threat of the com-
mander of the enemy's forces, to refuse quarter should an
Indian appear in the ranks.
" The brave bands of aborigines which inhabit this colony
were, like his Majesty's other subjects, punished for their zeal
and fidelity by the loss of their possessions in the late colonies,
and rewarded by his Majesty with lands of superior value in
this Province.
" The faith of the British Government has never been vio-
lated. The Indians feel that the soil they inherit is to them
and their posterity protected from the base arts so frequently •
devised to overreach their simplicity.
" By what principle are they to be prohibited from defending
their property ? If their warfare, from being difierent to that
of other people, be more terrific to the enemy, let him retrace
his steps ; they seek him not — and cannot expect to find women
and children in an invading army.
" But they are men, and have equal rights with all other
men to defend themselves and their property when invaded,
more especially when they find in the enemy's camp a ferocious
and mortal enemy, using the same warfare which the American
commander affects to reprobate.
" This inconsistent and unjustifiable threat of refusing quarter,
for such a cause as being found in arms with a brother sufferer,
in defence of invaded rights, must be exercised with the certain
assurance of retaliation, not only in the limited operations of
war in this part of the King's dominions, but in every quarter
of the globe ; for the national character of Britain is not less
CHAP. LI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 351
distinguished for humanity than strict retributive justice, which
will consider the execution of this inhuman threat as deliberate
murder, for which every subject of the offending power must
make expiation.
(Signed) " Isaac Brock,
" Major-Oeneral and President.
" Head-quarters,
" Fort George, July 22nd, 1812."
" By order of his Honour the President,
(Signed) " J. B. Glegg, A.D.C,
" Oeneral"
352 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LU.
CHAPTER LII.
General Brock Prepares for an Attack on Detroit, and with a
Small Force takes General Hull and his Army Prisoners,
and Acquires Possession of Detroit and the Territory of
Michigan — Incidents Preceding and Attending the Taking of
Detroit — General Brock's Proclamation to the Inhabitants of
THE Michigan Territory — His Council with the Indians, and
Conversation with the Great Chief Tecumseh, and Estimate of
him — General Brock Eeturns to York (Toronto) — What he
Did in Nineteen Days.
General Brock did not content himself in replying to
General Hull on paper, in defence of the British Government
and the people of Canada ; he answered him in a more substan-
tial way on the battle-field. General Brock lost no time in
collecting the few soldiers in Upper Canada, and the militia
volunteers, and proceeding by boats, vessels, and by land, from
Niagara to Detroit, to meet face to face the boasting commander
of the Grand Army of the West, and, in less than four weeks
of his manly reply to Hull's inflated proclamation, he made
Hull and all his army prisoners of war, with the surrender of
the whole Michigan territory. It was an achievement worthy
of perpetual remembrance, that General Brock, with forces
hastily collected, " consisting of thirty of the Royal Artillery
with three six-pounders, under the command of Lieutenant
Troughton, two hundred and fifty of the 41st Regiment, fifty of
the Newfoundland Fencibles, and four hundred Canadian
militia — in all amounting to seven hundred and thirty, to
whom six hundred Indians attached themselves — making an
aggregate of one thousand three hundred and thirty ; we say,,
it is an achievement worthy of all remembrance and honour,.
CHAP. LIT.] AND THEIR TIMES. 353
that General Brock should, with such motley and slender forces,
cross the Detroit river, and, by the skilful arrangement of his
handful of soldiers, take, without shedding a drop of blood, a fort
strongly protected by — iron ordnance, nine twenty-four-pound-
ers, eight twelve-pounders, five nine-pounders, three six-pound-
ers ; brass ordnance, three six-pounders, two four -pounders, one
three-pounder, one eight-inch howitzer, one five and a-half inch
howitzer — in all thirty-three pieces of ordnance ; and defended
by upwards of 2,-500 regular soldiers and militia.
But there was this essential difference between the two
armies : the little Canadian army had homes, families, and
liberties to defend, connection with the mother country to
maintain, and the consciousness of right ; the great American
army, with its fortifications, had the consciousness of long-con-
tinued and wide-spread wrongs in depredations against their
western Indian neighbours, bloated avarice for conquest, and
inveterate hatred of Great Britain.
There are several incidents connected with this remarkable
military achievement. Mr. Thompson, in his History of the
War of 1812, says : " General Brock having made such arrange-
ments, in the government of the province, as were necessary
during his absence from York, proceeded thence to Fort George,
and thence to Long Point, on Lake Erie, where he was joined
by two hundred and sixty of the militia, who had, in a few
days, and in the very height of their harvest, gallantly volun-
teered their services to share the dangers of the field in defence
of their country, together with the detachment of the 41st
Regiment, who had been previously sent to that quarter."
(Thompson's History of the War of 1812, p. 106.)
Among the 260 volunteers from the county of Norfolk — Long
Point, Lake Erie — were the elder brother and brother-in-law of
the writer of these pages (he being then ten years of age) ; the one
of them was lieutenant and the other captain, who, with a great
number of their neighbours, proceeded in a vessel from Port
Ryerse to Amherstburg — making the passage in forty-eight
hours — General Brock marching by land. The vessel with the
militia volunteers reached Amherstburg some five days before
General Brock, and, under the command of Colonel Proctor
and the direction of a skilful engineer, commenced erecting a
battery at Windsor, opposite to Detroit, behind a tuft of trees
VOL. II, — 23
354 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIJ.
which skirted the river shore. Sentries were stationed at con-
venient distances along the north shore of the river, to prevent
any intercourse with the American side ; while the militia,
officers and men, worked each night with the utmost quietness,
in the erection of the battery, retiring at the approach of day.
In four nights the battery was erected and mounted with
cannon, when General Brock arrived, approved of what had
been done, called a Council of the Indian allies, as well as of his
officers, and determined forthwith to cross the river and attack
Fort Detroit. The Indians were to cross in the night, which
they did some three or four miles below Detroit, and spread
themselves in the woods that surrounded the town, which then
contained from 6,000 to 8,000 inhabitants. The night-erected
battery was unmasked by felling the trees and underwood in
front of it, when, to the astonishment and terror of the Ameri-
cans, they saw a battery fully equipped, and already firing
effectually upon their town and fort. Early in the morning of
the 15th of Aiigust, General Brock, with his little army of 730
men (the militia being accoutred as regular soldiers), crossed the
river unopposed about three miles below the fort (which was
in the centre of the town), and marched in order of battle,
under cover of corn fields, to within half a mile of the
fort, from which, not cannon balls, but a flag of truce was sent
out, proposing the surrender to the British commander of the
fort, army, town, and territory.*
* The brother-in-law and elder brother of the writer were ordered by
General Brock to select the fleetest horses of those captured from the
Americans, in order to convey the intelligence of the capture of Detroit,
and of General Hull and army, to Colonel Talbot, at Port Talbot, and to
General Vincent, commander of the forces at Burlington Heights. They had
wrought all night before they received their orders, and travelled, one
of them two days and two nights, and the other two nights and three
days without sleep. But these deeds were not peculiar ; similar deeds were
performed on the Niagara and Lower Canada frontiers during that and the
following years. The Loyalist defenders of Canada of those days were
patriots and soldiers to the heart's core ; and they had wills, and nerves,
and muscles " to endure hardness as good soldiers," in the hardest and darkest
hours of our country's trials and struggles.
It may be added, that the horse on which the elder brother of the writer
of these pages rode, in execution of the orders of General Brock, was after-
wards stolen by the traitor Wilcox, who escaped to the United States, but
was afterwards killed while invading Fort Erie.
CHAP. LII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 355
The terrific war-whoop of the dreaded Indians, who seemed
to swarm in the woods around the town, filled the people and
General Hull with irresistible terror ; and at the very moment
that General Hull was holding a council of war with his officers
in a room within the fort, a shell, thrown from the British
battery at Windsor, fell into the council room, killed some
officers, and wounded several more. This catastrophe, with the
terrible yells of the surrounding Indians, seemed to have
decided General Hull and his advisers that surrender " was the
better part of valour."
A second incident connected with the surrender of Detroit
and the Michigan territory is the council which General Brock
held with the Indians the day before the attack upon and
surrender of Detroit, and his interview with them the day after,
for the account of which I am indebted to Colonel John Clarke's
manuscripts in the Dominion Library at Ottawa :
" On General Brock's arrival at Sandwich, a council of war
was assembled on the following morning. Along with others
were 1,000 Indians, whose equipment generally might be con-
sidered very imposing.
" The council was opened by General Brock, who informed
the Indians that he was ordered by their great Father, the
King, to come to their assistance, and with them to drive the
enemy from Fort Detroit. His speech was highly applauded,
and Tecumseh was unanimously called upon to speak in reply.
He commenced with expressing his joy that their great Father
beyond the Salt Lake (meaning the King of England) had at
length awoke from his long sleep, and sent his warriors to the
assistance of his red children, who had roused themselves in
their honour, and were now ready to shed the last drop of their
blood in their great Father's service.
"Previously to passing over to Detroit, General Brock
inquired of Tecumseh what kind of country he should have to
pass through, in the event of his proceeding further. Tecumseh,
taking a roll of elm bark, and extending it on the ground,
drew forth his scalping knife, and presently etched upon the
bark a plan of the country ; which, if not so neat, was as fully
intelligible as if a surveyor had prepared it. Pleased with
this talent in Tecumseh, and with his characteristic boldness.
General Brock induced the Indians to cross the river for the
356 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIL
attack on Detroit, prior to the embarkation of the white
troops.
" Soon after Detroit was surrendered, General Brock took off
his sash, and publicly placed it around the body of the chief
Tecumseh, who received the honour conferred on him with
evident gratification ; but was seen the next day without his
sash. The British general, fearing that something had dis-
pleased the Indian chief, sent his interpreter for an explanation.
Tecumseh told him that he did not wish to wear the sash as a
mark of distinction, when an older warrior than himself was
present ; he had transferred the sash to the Wyandot chief,
Roundhead.
" In his correspondence, General Brock states that ' of many
Indians whom he met at Amherstburg, he who most attracted
his notice was the Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, brother of the
Prophet — a more gallant or sagacious warrior does not, I
believe, exist ; he was the admiration of every one, and wa.s a.s
humane as he was brave.'
" General Brock, in General Orders of the 16th of August,
1812, after the capture of Detroit, states that two fortifications
had been already captured, Michilimackinac and Detroit, with-
out a drop of blood being shed by the hands of the Indians ;
the moment the enemy surrendered, his life became sacred."
"On congratulating General Brock, after the capture of Detroit,
Tecumseh said to the General, ' We observed you from a distance
standing the whole time in an erect position, and when the
boats reached the shore, you were the first man on the land ;
your bold and sudden movements frightened the enemy, and so
compelled them to surrender to half their number.'
"General Brock engaged the Indians to throw away the
scalping knife— implanting in their hearts the virtue of
clemency, and teaching them to feel pleasure and pride in com-
passion extended to a vanquished enemy. In return, they
revered him as their common Father, and whilst under his
control, were guilty of no excesses ; and thereby the noble
Tecumseh was humane as well as brave."*
* I think the reader will be interested in the following particulars, which
I have collected of this remarkable Indian Chief :
"In the year 1809, Tecumseh, attended by several hundred warriora,
encamped near Vincennes, then capital of Indiana, and demanded an inter-
CHAP. LII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 357
Such was the character and results of the first American
invasion of Canada.
It may be worth while to notice some events which preceded
the taking of Detroit, and which doubtless disappointed and
disheartened General Hull. In the island of St. Joseph, in
Lake Huron, there was a fort or blockhouse, under the com-
mand of Captain Roberts, with thirty regulars. General Brock,
in communicating to Captain Roberts the American declaration of
war against Great Britain, instructed him to take every precau-
tion for the protection of St. Joseph, and, if possible, to get
view with the Governor of the State ; for which interview waa assembled a
Council, when it was observed there was no vacant seat for the noble chief,
Tecnmseh. One of the Council officers hastily oflered his seat, and having
respectfully said to him, ' Warrior, your Father, General Harrison, offers you
a seat.' ' My Father,' exclaimed Tecumseh, extending his arms towards the
heavens, ' There, son, is my Father, and the earth is my mother ; she giving
me nourishment, and I dwell upon her bosom.' He then sat himself upon
the ground."
" The Indian warrior Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, himself and warriors,
attached themselves to the cause of Great Britain, on the declaration of the
American war of 1812. * *
" Tecumseh's first engagement, under the British Colonel Proctor, then in
command of the Western District, was attacking and defeating a detachment
of Americans under Major How*, from Detroit to the Beaver river. In this
afi'air. General Hull's despatches, and correspondence of his troops, fell into
the hands of Tecumseh ; and it was partly from the discouraging nature of
their contents that General Brock attempted the capture of the American
army under General Hull."
" On the 16th of July, Tecumseh and a few of his warriors pursued near
Sandwich [on the Canadian side of the river] a detachment of the American
army, under Colonel McArthur, and fired on the rear guard. ' The colonel
suddenly faced about and gave orders for a volley, when all the Indians fell
flat on the ground, with the exception of Tecumseh, who stood firm on his
feet, with apparent unconcern."
" As Colonel Proctor retired to Nassau (Moravian town), on the Thames,
and when the regulars and militia had surrendered on the right, the Indians
carried on the contest on the left, and did not retreat until the day was lost,
and thirty-three of their number had been slain, including the noble
warrior, Tecumseh. After his fall, his lifeless corpse was recovered with
great interest by the American officers, who declared that the contour of hie
features was majestic even in death. He left a son who fought by his side
when he fell, and was seventeen years of age.
" The Prince Regent, in 1815, as a mark of respect to the memory of his
father, sent a handsome sword as a present to his son."
358 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LII.
possession of Michilimackinac, now called Mackinac, and pro-
nounced Mackinaw, an island about nine miles in circumference,
commanding the entrance from Lake Huron into Lake Michigan,
on which the Americans had a fort with a captain in command,
and a garrison of seventy-five men. Captain Roberts was
aided by Mr. Pothier, a gentlemen of the South-west Fur
Company, who volunteered his own services, attended by about
160 Canadian voyageurs, and placed the contents of the stores
at the disposal of Captain Roberts, who, with his little armament,
consisting of thirty regulars, two artillerymen and a sergeant,
160 Canadians, and two iron field-pieces, set out on the 16th of
July with his flotilla of boats and canoes, convoyed by the
Caledonia brig, belonging to the North- West Company, loaded
with stores and provisions. On the ensuing morning he
reached Mackinac, a distance of about forty miles, landed with-
out opposition, and immediately summoned the garrison to sur-
render, which was complied with in a few minutes Thus was
this key of the West taken without the effusion of a drop of
blood.
The Americans had carried on a brisk trade in schooners and
sailing vessels from Detroit, through Lake Huron, to the head of
Lake Michigan, now Chicago. The capture of Mackinac —
which was a surprise to the commander, who had not heard of
the declaration of war — interrupted this trade, and gave confi-
dence to the Canadian voyageurs and Indians in the British
interests employed in the fur trade in these distant countries.
" This achievement, effected by the promptitude and judicious
arrangements of Captain Roberts, not only inspired the people
with confidence, and gave a turn to the present campaign fatal
to the views of the United States, by enabling us to maintain
our influence among the Indians of the West, which otherwise
must have been lost, but it essentially contributed to the suc-
cessful struggle afterwards maintained against the American
arms in Upper Canada. General Hull, after the capture of his
army and the fall of Detroit, in his official despatch relative to
these events, attributes his disasters to the fall of Mackinac ;
after the surrender of which, almost every tribe and nation of
Indians, except a part of the Miamis and Delawares, north
from beyond Lake Superior, west from beyond the Mississippi,
south from Ohio and the Wabash, and east from every part of
CHAP, LII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 359
Upper Canada, and from all the intermediate country, joined in
open hostility against the army he commanded."*
" General Hull remained some time inactive, under pretext
of making preparation to prosecute the campaign with vigour ;
but it was the fallacious hope of an early insurrection in his
favour that lulled him into a supineness fatal to the safety of
his army. Amherstburg lay about eighteen miles below him,
and the mud and picketed fortifications of that post was not in a
condition to make resistance against a regular siege. The
Americans, confident of an easy conquest, had not as yet a
single cannon or mortar mounted, and to endeavour to take it
at the point of the bayonet lie thought inexpedient. During
this delay his situation became more and more precarious ;
three detachments from his army were, on three successive
days, beaten back by a handful of the 41st Regiment and a few
Indians, from a bridge over the River Canard, three miles from
Amherstburg, which they endeavoured to seize, in order to open
the route to that port. Another detachment, in attempting to
ford the river (Canard) higher up, was put to flight by a small
party of eighteen or twenty Indians who lay concealed in the
grass. The enemy, panic-struck at their sudden and hideous
yell, fled with precipitancy, leaving their arms, accoutrements,
and haversacks. The British sloop of war Queen Charlotte,
carrying eighteen twenty-four pounders, lay in the Detroit
river, opposite the mouth of the River Canard, so that it was
impossible for the Americans to convey by water to Amherst-
burg any artillery, of which, after much labour, they had at
last mounted two twenty-four-pounders. Lieutenant Rolette,
commanding the armed brig Hunter, had on the 3rd of July,
at about ten o'clock in the forenoon, by a bold attempt in his
barge, with only six men, succeeded in capturing the Cayahaga
packet, bound from Miami river to Detroit with troops, and
loaded with baggage, and the hospital stores of the American
army, the loss of which was now severely felt. Mackinac, in his
rear, had been taken since the commencement of the invasion,
while the Indians from that quarter were flocking to the
British standard. Our naval force being superior on the lake,
Colonel Proctor pushed over to Brownstown, a village nearly
* Christie's War of 1812, pp. 65, 66.
360 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIL
opposite to Amberstburg, twenty miles beJow Detroit, witb a
small detacbment of tbe 41st Regiment, under tbe command of
Captain Tallon, with a few Indians, who on the 5th of August
surprised and routed a party of 200 Americans under Major
Vanhorne, on their way from Detroit to River Raisin, to meet
a detacbment of volunteers from Ohio, under Captain Brush,
witb a convoy of provisions for the army. In this affair a
quantity of booty, and General Hull's despatches to the Secretary
at War, fell into the hands of the victors, whereby tbe deplor-
able state of tbe American army was disclosed." * *
" In the interim, the American general received a despatch
from General Hull, on tbe Niagara frontier, intimating that he
could not expect co-operation in that quarter, which would
have created a diversion in bis favour. Such was the hopeless
state of things when the American general began to be sensible
of his danger. His army hemmed in on every side, cut off
from its resources, and hourly wasting away with defeat, death,
sickness, and fatigue, unsupported by an expected insurrection
of Canadians in his favour, and unaided by any co-operating
army, and, above all, dismayed at tbe report of General Brock's
resolution to advance against him ; his schemes of conquest
vanquished, and in the sinking state of bis affairs, be saw no
other alternative than to retreat back to Detroit, under pretence
of concentrating bis main army, and after re-opening bis com-
munications with the Rivers Raisin and Miami, through which
he received his whole supplies, to resume offensive operations
against Upper Canada. Accordingly, on the evening of the 7th
and tbe morning of the 8th of August, the whole of his army,
except a garrison of 250 men and a few artillery left in charge
of a small fortress they had thrown up on tbe British side, a
little below Detroit, recrossed the river.
" General Hull now detached a body of 600 men, under
Lieutenant-Colonel Miller, to dislodge tbe British from Browns-
town, and open the communication witb the Rivers Raisin and
Miami, upon which the existence of the army depended. On
the 9th, this detachment was met by the British and Indians
under Major Muir at Magnogo, between Brownstown and
Detroit, which, after a desperate battle, in which the Americans
lost seventy-five men, was obliged to retreat with inconsider-
able loss compared witb that of the Americans.
CHAP. LII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 361
On the 7th, Lieutenant Rolette, with the boats of the Queen
Charlotte and Hunter, under cover of the guns of the latter,
attacked and captured a convoy of eleven batteaux and boats>
having on board fifty-six of their wounded, and two English
prisoners, on their way from Magnogo to Detroit, escorted by
250 American troops on shore.
" Amidst these reverses of fortune, the American general was
startled at the summons to surrender the fort of Detroit, by
General Brock, who, after having closed the public business
at York, and prorogued Parliament, and collecting a few regu-
lars and militia with incredible exertion, had reached Amherst-
burg by the 13th of August. So resolute a demand struck the
American commander with dismay, who, at the most, had never
contemplated a pursuit into his own territory by the British.
He still, however, maintained sufficient presence of mind to
return a prompt and positive refusal, upon receipt of which, the
British, who now occupied the ground so lately in possession of
the enemy, in front of Detroit, where they had thrown up
a battery (erected by night) under the direction of Captain
Dixon, of the Royal Engineers, commenced, on the afternoon
of the 15th, a brisk cannonade on Detroit, from two five-and-
a-half-inch mortars, and two twelve-pounders, under the man-
agement of Captain Hall, o^ the Provincial Navy, with a party
of sailors, which was continued for upwards of an hour with
great effect. Early in the morning of the 16th the cannonade
recommenced, while General Brock, with about 700 regulars and
militia, and 600 Indians, crossed the river without opposition
at the Spring Wells, three miles below Detroit, under cover of
the Queen Charlotte and Hunter. This small but resolute
force, after forming upon the beach, advanced in column, flanked
on the left by the Indians, with the river of Detroit on their
right, and took (at the distance of a mile) position in line, in
front of the American fort, into which the enemy had retired.
Here every preparation was making for an immediate assault,
when, to the surprise of both armies, a white flag was seen
flying upon the walls of the fort, and a messenger advancing
with proposals from the American general to capitulate.
Lieutenant -Colonel McDowell, of the Militia, and Major Glegg,
of the 49th Regiment, aide-de-camp to General Brock, imme-
diately proceeded by his orders to the tent of the American
S62 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LU.
general, where, in a few minutes, they dictated the terms of
capitulation. By this the whole American army, including a
detachment of 350 men, under Colonels M'Arthur and Cass,
dispatched on the 14th for River Raisin to escort the provisions
in charge of Captain Brush from thence to Detroit, became
prisoners of war ; and Detroit, with the Michigan territory,
were surrendered to the British arms, without the effusion of a
single drop of British blood.
" The American statements of their own strength nearly
coincide with British reports, which make it 2,500 men, regulars
and militia. The militia were paroled, and permitted to return
home, on condition of not serving during the present war.
The regulars were sent down to Quebec.
" The British force, including Indians, is acknowledged by
the enemy to have consisted of only 1,030 men or thereabout.
Our own, and perhaps more correct reports, state it to have
consisted of 350 regular troops, 400 militia, and 600 Indians,
who, upon the present occasion, are said not to have sullied the
glory of the day by any wanton acts of savage barbarity
incident to the Indian mode of warfare. Twenty-five pieces of
iron and eight pieces of brass ordnance, with an immense
quantity of stores of every description, and one armed brig,
called the John Adams (afterwards named Detroit), fell into
the hands of the British " [besides nearly 3,000 stand of small
arms, much ammunition, and three weeks' provisions for the
whole army]. (Thompson's History of the War of 1812, pp.
67—72.)
" Thus ended this (first) rash and imbecile attempt at the
conquest of Canada. The loss of Mackinac and Detroit, with
the flower of their ai'my, at the outset of the war, was a dis-
grace that filled the American Government with consternation
and alarm, as their plans of aggrandisement were not only
totally defeated, but their whole western frontier was laid open
to the inroads of the hostile Indians, and at the mercy of a
people still warm with indignation at the late invasion." — Ih.,
pp. 72, 73.
General Brock, the day after taking Detroit, addressed to the
inhabitants of the Michigan territory the following Proclama-
tion :
" Whereas the territory of Michigan was this day, by capitu-
CHAP. Lir] AND THEIR TIMES. 363
lation, ceded to the arms of his Britannic Majesty, without any
other condition than the protection of private property ; and
wishing to give an early proof of the moderation and justice of
his Majesty s government, I do hereby announce to all the
inhabitants of the said territory, that the laws heretofore in
existence shall continue in force until his Majesty's pleasure be
known, and so long as the peace and safety of the said territory
will admit thereof ; and I do hereby also declare and make
known to the said inhabitants, that they shall be protected in
the full exercise and enjoyment of their religion — of which all
persons, both civil and military, will take notice, and govern
themselves accordingly.
" All persons having in their possession, or having knowledge
of any public property, shall forthwith deliver in the same, or
give notice thereof to the officer commanding, or to Lieutenant-
Colonel Nicholl, who are duly authorized to receive and give
the proper receipts for the same.
" Officers of militia will be held responsible that all arms in
possession of the militiamen be immediately delivered up ; and
all individuals whatever who have in possession arms of any
kind, will deliver them up without delay.
" Given under my hand, at Detroit, this 16th day of August,
1812, and in the 52nd year of his Majesty's reign. God save
the King.
(Signed) " Isaac Brock,
" Major-General."
The purport and spirit of this proclamation was very differ-
ent from those issued by successful American commanders in
former years, when they required the conquered to take a new
oath of allegiance, to enrol themselves in a new army under
pain of confiscation of property, imprisonment, and even death.
The true genius of English government is justice, law, and
liberty; the genius of democratic government is the domina-
tion of party, and the spoils to the victors. In the conquest of
a vast territory by General Brock, there was no phinder or
sacrifice of life, by Indian or soldier, much less plunder for the
benefit of the general. It was not so with the promising,
threatening, ostentatious, grasping General Hull, who, accord-
ing to the Patriotic Society of Upper Canada (of which here-
after), is thus reported :
364 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LII.
"In 1812, General Hull invaded the British province of
Upper Canada, and took possession of the town of Sandwich.
He threatened (by proclamation) to exterminate the infiahitants
if they made any resistance. He plundered those with whom
he had been on habits of intimacy years befpre the war. Their
plate and linen were found in his possession after his surrender
to General Brock. He marked out the loyal subjects of the
King as objects of his peculiar resentment, and consigned their
property to pillage and conflagration."
General Brock left Colonel Proctor in command of Detroit,
and returned to York (Toronto), where he arrived the 27th of
August, amidst the heartfelt acclamations of a grateful people.
" In the short space of nineteen days he had, with the
assistance of the Provincial Parliament, settled the public
business of the province, under the most trying circumstances
that a commander could encounter, and having united and
prepared his little army, had effected a long and fatiguing
march of several hundred miles ; and with means incredibly
limited, had repelled an invading enemy of double his force,
pursued him into his own territory, and finally compelled him
to surrender his whole army and jurisdiction ; thus extending
the British dominions, without bloodshed, over an extent of
territory almost equal to Upper Canada." — " Our little navy
on Lake Erie, and on Lake Ontario, though the enemy were
making the most active exertions, still maintained a decided
ascendency, and upon it depended the safety of Upper Canada
and the future fate of the British provinces. General Brock
intended to have followed up his first success by an attempt
on Niagara, a fort nearly opposite to Fort George ; which, in
all probability, as well as Oswego and Sackett's Harbour, the
nursery of the enemy's fleet and forces, would have yielded to
the terror of his name and the tide of success that attended
his arms ; but, controlled hy his instructions, he was prevented
from adopting measures which probably might have for ever
blasted the hopes of the United States in Upper Canada."
(Christie.)
CHAP. LIII.] AND THKIK TIMES. 365
CHAPTER LIII.
Second American Invasion of Upper Canada at Queenston — Dispro-
portion OP American and Canadian Forces — Death of General
Brock — Defeat and Loss of the Americans — Armistice — Inci-
dents WHICH OCCURRED ON THE NIAGARA FRONTIER, AT FORT ErIE,
as RELATED BY LIEUTENANT DrISCOLL, OF THE IOOtH ReQIMENT.
The second invasion of Upper Canada took place on the
Niagara frontier, at Queenston. We will give the account of
it (condensed) from the History of the War by Mr. Thompson,
of the Royal Scots :
" Dispirited at such a total failure in General Hull's expedi-
tion, it became late in the season before the American
Government could collect a force on the frontiers with which,
with any safety, another descent upon Canada could be made.
At length, Major-General Van Rensellaer, of the New York
Militia, with a force of four thousand men under his command
(1,500 of whom were regular troops), established his camp at
Lewiston, on the Niagara river, nearly half-way between Lake
Ontario and the Falls.
" Before daylight on the morning of the 13th of October, a
large division of General Van Rensellaer 's army, under Briga-
dier-General Wads worth, effected a landing at the lower end of
the village of Queenston (opposite to Lewiston), and made an
attack upon the position, which was defended with the most
determined bravery by the two flank companies of the 49th
Regiment, commanded by Captains Dennis and Williams, aided
by such of the militia forces and Indians as could be collected
in the vicinity.
" Major-General Brock, on receiving intelligence, immediately
366 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIII.
proceeded to that post, from Fort George, and arrived at the
juncture when the handful of British regulars was compelled to
retire for a time before an overwhelming force of the enemy.
However, on the appearance of their gallant chief, the troops
were seized with a fresh animation, and were led on by that
brave general to a renewed exertion to maintain the post ; but
at the moment of charging the enemy's position, within pistol-
shot of the line. General Brock was killed by a musket ball,
and with him the position was for a short time lost. Colonel
Macdonell, his provincial aide-de-camp, was mortally wounded
about the same time, and died shortly afterwards of his wounds.
"A reinforcement of the 41st Regiment, commanded by
Captain Derenzy, with a few of the Lincoln Militia and a
party of Indians, were inimediately marched from Fort George
to the succour of the troops at Queenston, under the direction
of Major-General Sheaffe, who now assumed the command ; and
persons who were, by their situations in life and advanced age,
exempt from serving in the militia, made common cause, seized
their arms, and flew to the field of action as volunteers.
" The conflict was again renewed, and from the advantageous
position of Norton, the Indian chief, with his warriors, on the
woody brow of the high grounds, a communication was opened
with Chippewa, from whence Captain Bullock, of the 41st
Regiment, with a detachment of that corps, was enabled to
march for Queenston, and was joined on the way by parties of
militia who were repairing from all quarters, with all the
enthusiasm imaginable, to the field of battle. The fight was
maintained on both sides with a courage truly heroic. The
British regulars and militia charged in rapid succession against
a force in number far exceeding their own, until they succeeded
in turning the left flank of their column, which rested on the
summit of the hill. The event of the day no longer appeared
doubtful."
"Major-General Van Rensellaer, commanding the American
army, perceiving his reinforcements embarking very slowly, re-
crossed the Niagara river to accelerate their movements ; but, to
his utter astonishment, he found that at the very moment when
their services were most required, the ardour of the engaged
troops had entirely subsided. He rode in all directions through
his camp, urging the men by every consideration to pass over.
CHAP. LIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 367
Lieutenant-Colonel Bloome, who had been wounded in the
action and re-crossed the river, together with Judge Peck, who
happened to be in Lewiston at the time, mounted their horses
and rode through the camp, exhorting the companies to pro-
ceed— hut all in vain. Crowds of the United States Militia
remained on the American bank of the river, to which they
had not been marched in any order, but run as a mob ; not one
of them tuoidd cross. They had seen the wounded re-crossing ;
they had seen the Indians, and were panic-struck." (American
Report of the Battle of Queenston.)
" No sooner had the British foixes succeeded in turning the
left flank of the enemy, than he visibly began to give way ; one
grand eflbrt was therefore made upon the crest of his position,
in which the heights were carried at the point of the bayonet.
" General Van Rensellaer, having found that it was impossible
to induce a man to cross the river to reinforce the army on the
heights, and that the army had nearly expended its ammu-
nition, immediately sent boats to cover their retreat ; but the
fire, which was maintained upon the ferry from a battery on
the bank of the lower end of Queenston, completely dispersed
the boats, and many of the boatmen re-landed and fled in dismay.
" Brigadier-General Wadsworth was therefore compelled,
after a vigorous conflict had been maintained for some time
on both sides, to surrender himself and all his ofiicers, with
900 men, between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, to a
force far inferior to his in numbers — a circumstance which
speaks loudly in favour of the plan of defence and attack
adopted by Major-General Sheaffe.
" The loss of the British in this battle did not exceed 100
men, including killed, wounded, and missing ; while that on the
side of the Americans, including deserters, was not less than
2,000 ; but amongst the killed, the British Government and the
country had to deplore the loss of Sir Isaac Brock, one whose
memory will long live in the warmest affections of every British
subject in Canada."*
* Such was the high esteem in which the character of General Brock was
held even by the enemy, that during the movement of the funeral proces-
sion of that brave man from Queenston to Fort George, a distance of seven
miles, minute guns were fired at every American post on that part of the
lines ; and even the appearance of hostilities was suspended.
368 THE LOYALISTS OF 4.MERICA [CHAP. LIIL
" On the morning subsequent to the battle of Queenston,
General SheafFe entered into an armistice with the American
general commanding at Lewiston, to be confined to that part of
the frontier comprised between Lakes Ontario and Erie, subject
to a condition that forty-eight hours' notice should be given by
either party for a recommencement of hostilities [a condition
violated by the American commander]. This arrangement
[considered disadvantageous to the British cause] was at first
censured by individuals unaware of the motives by which
General Sheaffe was actuated. It was not, in the flush of
victory, taken into consideration that the number of American
prisoners then in his charge far exceeded the numerical strength
of his army, when the Indian force was withdrawn ; and that,
with his very limited means of defence, he had a frontier of
forty miles to protect."*
Before noticing the third American invasion of Canada, in
1812, or the second on the Niagara frontier, we will con-
clude this Chapter by adding a few incidents on the Niagara
river frontier, at Foi't Erie, after the death of General
Brock, October 13, 1812, by Lieutenant Driscoll, of the 100th
Regiment :
"I was stationed. at Fort Erie on the memorable 13th of
October, 1812. At daybreak, having returned with my escort
as visiting rounds, after a march of about six miles in muddy
roads through the forests, and about to refresh the inward man,
after my fatiguing trudge, I heard a booming of distant artillerj%
very faintly articulated.
" Having satisfied myself of the certainty of my belief,
hunger, wet, and fatigue were no longer remembered ; excite-
ment banishes these trifling matters from the mind ; and I
posted off" to my commanding ofiicer to report the firing, now
more audible and rapid.
" I found my chief, booted, spurred, and snoring — lying, as
was his wont, on a small hair mattrass on the floor in his
barrack-room, which boasted of furniture, one oak table covered
with green baize, a writing-desk, a tin basin containing water
and a brass candlestick, which had planted in it a regulation
mutton-dip, dimly flickering its last ray of light, paling before
* Thompson's History of the War of 1812, Chap. xv.
CHAP. LIIl.] AND THEIR TIMES. 369
the dawn, now making its first appearance through the curtain-
less window.
" The noise I made on entering the major's sleeping and other
apartment awoke him. As he sat up on his low mattrass, he
said, ' What is the matter ? ' ' Heavy firing down the river, sir.
' Turn the men out.' ' All under arms, sir.' ' That 11 do.'
"By this time he was on his legs — his hat and gloves on.
His hutman was at the door with his charger, and his spurs in
his horse's flanks in an instant — leaving the orderly, hutman,
and myself to double after him up to the fort, some hundred
yards off.
" As we reached it, the men were emerging through the gate
in measured cadence, and we were on our way to the batteries,
opposite the enemy's station at Black Rock.
" Before we reached our post of alarm the sun was up and
bright. We had not assumed our position long before an
orderly officer of the Provincial Dragoons rode up, and gave us
the information that the enemy were attempting to cross at
Kingston, and that we must annoy them along the whole line,
as was being done from Niagara to Queenston, by any and
every means in our power short of crossing the river. Every-
thing was ready on our parts. The enemy all appeared asleep,
judging from the apparent quiet that prevailed on their side of
the river.
"' The command to annoy the enemy was no sooner given
than, bang ! bang ! went off" every gun we had in position.
" Now there was a stir. The enemy's guns were in a short
time manned, and returned our fire ; and the day's work was
begun, which was carried on briskly the greater part of the
day on both sides of the Niagara.
" About two o'clock, another Provincial dragoon, bespattered,
horse and man, with foam and mud, made his appearance — not
wearing his sword or helmet.
" Said an old Green Tiger to me, ' Horse and man jaded,
sir ; depend upon it, he brings bad news.' ' Step down and
ascertain what intelligence he brings.' Away my veteran
doubles, and soon returns at a funeral pace. ' Light heart, light
step,' were my inward thoughts. I knew by poor old Clibborn's
style of return something dreadful had occurred.
'"What news, Clibborn ? What news, man? Speak out,'
VOL. II. — 24
370 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIU.
said I, as he advanced towards the battery, that was still keep-
ing up a brisk fire. Clibborn walked on, perfectly unconscious
of the balls that were ploughing up the ground, uttered not a
word, but shook his head.
" When in the battery, the old man sat down on the platform ;
still no word, but the pallor and expression of his countenance
indicated the sorrow of his soul.
" I could stand it no longer. I placed my hand on his
shoulder, ' For Heaven's sake, tell us what you know.' In
choking accents he revealed his melancholy information : ' The
general is killed ; the enemy has possession of Queenston
Heights.'
" Every man in the battery was paralyzed ; the battery ceased
firing:.
" A cheer by the enemy from the opposite side of the river
recalled us to our duty. They had heard of their success down
the river. Our men, who had in various ways evinced their
feelings — some in weeping, some in swearing, some in mournful
silence — now exhibit demoniac energy. The heavy guns are
loaded, traversed and fired, as if they were field-pieces — too
much hurry for precision. ' Take your time, men ; don't throw
away your fire, my lads.' ' No, sir, but we will give it to them
hot and heavy.'
"All the guns were worked by the 49 men of my own
company, and they wished to avenge their beloved chief Brock,
whom they knew and valued with that correct appreciation
peculiar to the British soldier. They had all served under him
in Holland and at Copenhagen.
" I had a very excellent reconnoitring-glass ; and as I kept
a sharp look-out for the effect of our fire, and the movements
of the enemy, I observed that powder was being removed from
a large wooden barrack into ammunition waggons. The only
man of the Royal Artillery I had with me was a bombardier.
Walker. I called his attention to the fact I had observed, and
directed him to lay a gun for that part of the building wherein
the powder was being taken. At my request he took a look
through my glass, and, having satisfied himself, he lay the gun
as ordered. I, with my glass, watched the spot aimed at. I
saw one plank of the building fall out, and at the same instant
the whole fabric went up in a pillar of black smoke, with but
CHA.P. LIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 371
little noise, as it was no more. Horses, waggons, men, and
building all disappeared ; not a vestige of any was seen.
" Now was our turn to cheer ; and we plied the enemy in a
style so quick and accurate, that we silenced all their guns just
as a third dragoon come galloping up to us, shouting ' Victory !
Victory !' Then again we cheered lustily ; but no response from
the other side. Night now hid the enemy from our sight.
" The commissariat made its appearance with biscuit, pork,
rum, and potatoes ; and we broke our fast for that day about
nine p.m.
" How strange and unaccountable are the feelings induced by
war ! Here were men of two nations, but of a common origin,
speaking the same language, of the same creed, intent on
miltual destruction, rejoicing with fiendish pleasure at their
address in perpetrating murder 'by wholesale, shouting for joy
as disasters propagated by the chances of war hurled death and
agonizing wounds into the ranks of their opponents ! And yet
the very same men, when chance gave them the opportunity,
would readily exchange, in their own peculiar way, all the
amenities of social life, extending to one another a draw of the
pipe, and quid, or glass ; obtaining and exchanging information
from one and the other of their respective services, as to pay,
rations, and so on — the victors, with delicacy, abstaining from
any allusion to the victorious day. Though the vanquished
would allude to their disaster, the victors never named their
triumphs.
" Such is the character of acts and words between British and
American soldiers which I have witnessed, as officer command-
ing a guard over American prisoners.
" J. Driscoll,
" Of the 100th Regiment."
372 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LJV.
CHAPTER LIV.
Third American Invasion of Upper Canada, at and near Fort
Erie, on the Niagara Eiver, under General Smyth — His Ad-
dress TO HIS Soldiers — The Ludicrous and Disgraceful Failt^^e
OP his Expedition — Three American Expeditions Repelled in
1812 BY the Spartan Bands of Canadian Volunteers, assisted
BY a Few Regiments of English Soldiers.
Such was the result of the second invasion of Canada — the
first invasion on the Niagara frontier by the American " Grand
Army of the Centre."
The Americans, after recovering in some measure from their
disastrous defeat at Queenston, commenced gigantic preparations
for assembling another army near Buffalo, for a second descent
on the Niagara frontier, under the command of General Smyth,
with an army which, according to the latest accounts of the
American reports themselves, was 8,000 strong, with fifteen
pieces of field ordnance — sustained in the rear by a populous
and fertile country, and the facility afforded by good roads to
draw the supplies for his army and to bring into the field a
formidable artillery. So confident was General Smyth himself
of a successful result of his expedition, that he boasted on the
10th of November " that in a few days the troops under his
command would plant the American standard in Canada," and
issued an order to the commandant of Fort Niagara to save the
buildings at Fort George and the adjacent town of Newark
(Niagara), as they would be required for winter quarters for the
" Army of the Centre."
It was a difficult if not doubtful task for General Sheaffe and
the regular and militia officers under his command to provide
for the defence of the country against such formidable odds ;
CHAP. L[V.] AND THEIR TIMES. 373
for up to the time at which the American general had violated the
terms of the armistice not a single British soldier had arrived to
reinforce the little Canadian army ; and " after the conflict at
Queenston, the militia, which constituted the majority of the
British force, had been permitted to return home to secure the
remainder of their harvest." (Thompson.)
" However, on the first alarm being given of the hostile
movements of the American army, those already harassed but
loyal Canadian militiamen promptly returned to their posts,
fully determined to dispute every inch of ground while a man
was left to defend it." — (76). Nor were these volunteer Loyal-
ists intimidated by General Smyth's extended columns of
cavalry and infantry with which he lined the American shore,
his marching and countermarching of countless battalions, and all
the pomp of war and parade of martial bombast with which the
fertile mind of General Smyth hoped to terrify the apparently
defenceless Canadians ; to which he added a flaming proclama-
tion, not excelled in pomposity and brag by that of General
Hull issued to Canadians three months before. We give this
proclamation, as we have done that of General Hull, in a note.*
This proclamation, ridiculous as it is, and appealing to the
lowest mercenary as well as better motives of democratic
* The following is General Smyth's proclamation, issued to his soldiers, on
his intended invasion of Canada :
" General Smyth to the Soldiers of the Army of the Centre.
" Companions in arms ! — The time is come when yoti will cross the stream
of Niagara to conquer Canada, and to secure the peace of the Canadian
frontier.
" You wall enter a country that is to he one of the United States. You
are to arrive among a people who are to become your fellow-citizens. It is
not against them, that we come to make war. It is against that Government
which holds them as vassals.
" You will make this war as little as possible distressful to the Canadian
population. If they are peaceable, they are to be secure in their persons ;
and in their property as far as our imperious necessities will allow.
" Provided that, plundering is absolutely forbidden. Any soldier who
quits his rank to plunder on the field of battle, will be punished in the most
exemplary manner.
" But your just rights as soldiers will be maintained ; whatever is booty
by the usages of war, you shall have. All horses belonging to the artillery
and cavalry ; all waggons and teams in the public service, will be sold for
374 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIV.
Americans, produced a considerable effect in Pennsylvania, and
caused an accession of some 2,000 volunteers to General Smyth's
already large forces ; but when the crisis of action arrived, this
grandiloquent General Smyth was not to be found on the
the benefit of the captors. Public stores will be secured for the service
of the United States. The Government will, with justice, pay you the
value.
" The horses drawing the light artillery of the enemy are wanted for the
service of the United States. I will order f 200 for each to be paid to the
party who may take them. I will also order $40 to be paid for the arms
and spoils of each savage warrior who shall be killed.
" Soldiers 1 — You are amply provided for war. You are superior in num-
ber to the enemy. Your personal strength and activity are greater. Your
weapons are longer. The regular soldiers of the enemy are really old, whose
best years have been spent in the sickly climate of the West Indies. They
will not be able to stand before you — you who charge with the bayonet. You
have seen Indians, such as those hired by the English to murder women and
children, and kill and scalp the wounded. You have seen their dances and
grimaces, and heard their yells. Can you fear them ? No ; you hold them
in the utmost contempt.
" Volunteers ! — Disloyal and traitorous men have endeavoured to dissuade
you from your duty. Sometimes they say, if you enter Canada you will be
held to service for five years. At others they say that you will not be
furnished with supplies. At other times they say that if you are wounded,
the Government will not provide for you by pensions. The just and
generous course pursued by Government towards the volunteers who fought
at Tippecanoe, furnishes an answer to that objection. The others are too
absurd to deserve any.
" Volunteers ! — I esteem your generous and patriotic motives. You have
made sacrifices on the altar of your country. You will not suffer the
enemies of your fame to mislead you from the path of duty and honour, and
deprive you of the esteem of a grateful country. You will show the eternal
infamy that awaits the man who, having come in sight of the enemy, basely
shrinks in the moment of trial.
" Soldiers of every corps ! — It is in your power to retrieve the honour of your
country, and to cover yourselves with glory. Every man who performs a
gallant action shall have his name made known to the nation. Kewards and
honours await the brave. Infamy and contempt are reserved for cowards.
" Companions in arms ! — You come to vanquish a valiant foe ; I know the
choice you will make. Come on, my heroes I And when you attack the
enemy's batteries, let your rallying word be ' The cannon lost at Detroit, or
death.'
(Signed) "Alexander Smyth,
" Brigadier-General Commanding.
" Camp near Buffalo, 17th Nov., 1812."
CHAP. LIV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 375
field of action ; and of the twenty boats which were provided
to convey across the river the first instalment of invaders of
Canada, fourteen boats were sunk or driven back, and only six
boats reached the Canadian shore and gained a temporary
hold, but some of them were driven back with loss before the
next morning, and the remainder were taken prisoners. The
next day General Smyth promised to do very great things ;
but we will narrate these doings and the results in the words of
the American writer Lossing, in his Field Book of the War of
1812. Lossing says :
"November 27th [1812]. — It was sunrise when the troops
began to embark, and so tardy were the movements that it was
late in the afternoon when all was ready. General Smyth did
not make his appearance, and all the movements were under
the direction of his subordinates. A number of boats had been
left to strand upon the shore, and became filled with water,
snow, and ice ; and as hour after hour passed by, dreariness and
disappointment fell upon the spirits of the shivering troops.
Meanwhile the enemy had collected on the opposite [British]
shore, and were watching every movement. At length, when all
seemed ready and impatience had yielded to hope, an order
came from the commanding general ' to disembark and dine.'
The wearied and worried troops were deeply exasperated by
this order, and nothing but the most positive assurances that
the undertaking would be immediately resumed kept them
from open mutiny. The different regiments retired sullenly
to their respective quarters, and General Porter, with his
dispirited New York volunteers, marched in disgust to Buffalo.
"November 28th [1812]. — Smyth now called a council of
officers. They could not agree. The best of them urged the
necessity of crossing in force at once, before the (Canadian)
enemy could make formidable preparations for their reception.
The General decided otherwise ; and doubt and despondency
brooded over the camp that night. The ensuing Sabbath
brought no relief. Preparations for another embarkation were
indeed in progress, while the (Canadian) enemy, too, was busy
in opposing labour. It was evident to every spectator of judg-
ment that the invasion must be attempted at another point of
the river, when, towards evening, to the astonishment of all,
the General issued an order perfectly characteristic of the man—
376 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIV.
for the troops to be ready at eight (November 30) o'clock the
next mornino- for embarkation. ' The General will be on
board,' he pompously proclaimed. ' Neither rain, snow, or frost
will prevent the embarkation,' he said. ' The cavalry will soon
scour the fields from Black Rock to the bridge, and suffer no
idle spectators. While embarking, the bands will play martial
airs; Yankee Doodle will be the signal to get under way. * *
The landing will be effected in despite of cannon. The whole
army has seen that cannon is to be but little dreaded. * *
Hearts of war ! to-morrow will be memorable in the annals of
the United States.'
" 'To-morrow' came, but not the promised achievement. All
the officers disapproved of the time and manner of the proposed
embarkation, and expressed their opinions freely. At General
Porter's quarters a change was agreed upon. Porter deferred
the embarkation until Tuesday morning, the 1st of December,
an hour or two before daylight, and to make the landing-place
a little below the upper end of Grand Island. Winder sug-
gested the propriety of making a descent directly upon Chip-
pewa, ' the key of the country.' This Smyth consented to at-
tempt, intending as he said, if successful, to march down to
Queenston, and lay siege to Fort George. Orders were accord-
ingly given for a general rendezvous at the Navy Yard, at three
o'clock on Tuesday morning, and that the troops should be
collected in the woods near by on Monday, where they should
build fires, and await the signal for gathering on the shore of
the river. The hour arrived, but when day dawned only
fifteen hundred were embarked. Tannehill's Pennsylvania Bri-
gade were not present. Before their arrival rumours had
reached the camp that they, too, like Van Rensellaer's militia at
Lewiston, had raised a constitutional question about being led
out of their State. Yet their scruples seem to have been over-
come at this time, and they would have invaded Canada cheer-
fully under other auspices. But distrust of their leader,
created by the events of the last forty-eight hours, had demoral-
ized nearly the whole army. They had made so much noise in
embarkation that the startled Canadian had sounded his alarm
bugle and discharged signal guns from Fort Erie to Chippewa.
Tannehill's Pennsylvanians had not appeared, and many other
troops lingered upon the shore, loth to embark. In this
CHAP. LIV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 377
dilemma Smyth hastily called a Council of the regular officers,
utterly excluding those of the volunteers from the conference ;
and the first intimation of the result of that Council was an
order from the commanding general, sent to General Porter,
who was on a boat with the pilot, a fourth of a mile from shore,
in the van of the impatient flotilla, directing the ivhole army >
to debark, and repair to their quarters. This was accompanied
by a declaration that the invasion of Canada was abandoned
at present, pleading in bar of just censure, that his orders
from his superiors were, not to attempt it with less than 3,000
men. The regulars were ordered into winter quarters, and the
volunteers were dismissed to their homes.
"The troops, without order or restraint, discharged their
muskets in all directions, and a scene of insubordination and
utter confusion followed. At least a thousand of the volun-
teers had come from their homes in response to his invitation,
and the promise that they should be led into Canada by a
victor [without personal danger, and with the promise of
plunder and glory]. They had implicit confidence in his
ability and in the sincerity of his great words, and in propor-
tion to their faith and zeal were now their disappointment and
resentment. Unwillincf to have their errand to the frontier
fruitless of all but disgrace, the volunteers earnestly requested
permission to be led into Canada under General Porter, pro-
mising the commanding general the speedy capture of Fort
Erie if he would furnish them with four pieces of artillery.*
But Smyth evaded their request, and the volunteers were sent
home uttering imprecations against the man whom they con-
sidered a mere blusterer without courage, and a conceited
deceiver without honour. They felt themselves betrayed, and
the inhabitants in the vicinity sympathized with them. Their
indignation was greatly increased by the ill-timed and un-
generous charges made by Smyth in his report to General
Dearborn against General Porter, in whom the volunteers had
"63"
* We are inclined to think that those volunteers and others who pro-
fessed such patriotic indignation against Smyth, and promised such great
things, were, in general, no less poltroons than Smyth himself. It was as easy
for them to denounce Smyth, and to boast of what they could and would
do, as for Smyth, in his proclamation, to denounce those who opposed the
invasion of Canada.
378 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIV,
the greatest confidence. General Smyth's person was for some
time in danger. He was compelled to double the guards around
his tent, and to move it from place to place to avoid continual
insults. He was several times fired at when he ventured out
of his marquee. Porter openly attributed the abandonment
of the invasion of Canada to the cowardice of Smyth." * *
" Thus ended the melodrama of Smyth's invasion of Canada.
The whole affair was disgraceful and humiliating. ' What
wretched work Smyth and Porter have made of it ! ' wrote
General Wadsworth to General Van Pensellaer from his home
at Genesee at the close of the year. ' I wish those who are dis-
posed to find so much fault could know the state of the militia
since the day you gave up the command. It has been " con-
fusion worse confounded." ' The day that saw Smyth's failure
was indeed ' memorable in the annals of the United States,' as
well as in his own private history. Confidence in his military
ability was destroyed; and three months afterwards he was
' disbanded,' as the Army Register says ; in other words, he was
deposed without a trial, and excluded from the army."*
Such was the third and last American invasion of Upper
Canada in 1812. Three large American armies defeated — two
of them taken prisoners by less than one-third their num-
ber of Canadian volunteers, aided by a few hundred regular
soldiers and as many Indians, who, notwithstanding the abuse
* Lossing's Field Book of the War of 1812, Chap, xx., p. 430—432.
Mr. Lossing adds, in a note, that " General Smyth petitioned the House
of Representatives to reinstate him in the army. That body referred the
petition to the Secretary of War — the General's executioner. Of course, its
prayer was not answered. In that petition Smyth asked the privilege of
' dying for his country.' This phrase was the subject of much ridicule. At
a public celebration of Washington's birth-day, in 1814, at Georgetown, in
the District of Columbia, the following sentiment was offered during the
presentation of toasts : ' General Slnyth's petition to Congress to die for
his country ; may it be ordered that the prayer of said petition be granted.'
" A wag wrote on a panel of one of the doors of the House of Represen-
tatives :
" ' All hail, great chief, who quailed before
A Bishop on Niag'ra's shore ;
But looks on Death with dauntless eye,
And begs for leave to bleed and die,
" ' Oh my !' "
CHAP. LIV,] AND THEIR TIMES. 379
of them by the American generals, never murdered a woman
or child during the year, or killed a prisoner, and who were no
more " savages " than the men who maligned them.
The Spartan bands of Canadian Loyalist volunteers, aided
by a few hundred English soldiers and civilized Indians, re-
pelled the Persian thousands of democratic American invaders,
and maintained the virgin soil of Canada unpolluted by the
foot of the plundering invader.
380 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LV.
CHAPTER LV.
Fourth American Invasion — First Invasion of Lower Canada,
COMPLETELY DEFEATED BY THE CoURAGE AND SkILL OF THE CANA-
DIANS ; AND General Dearborn retires into Winter Quarters
AT Plattsburg.
But in addition to these three abortive invasions of Upper
Canada in 1812, was one of Lower Canada, which will be
narrated in the words of Mr. Christie, illustrating as it does the
ardent loyalty and noble heroism of the French Canadians :
" The American forces, under General Dearborn, gradually
approached the frontier of Lower Canada; and early on the
morning of the 17th of November, 1812, Major (now Lieutenant-
Colonel) De Salaberry, Superintendent of the Canadian Volti-
geurs, commanding the cordon of advanced posts on the lines,
received information at St. Philip's that the enemy, to the
number of ten thousand (10,000), were advancing to Odletown.
He immediately despatched two companies of the Voltigeurs,
under the command of Captain Perrault, of the same regiment,
with 300 Indians under Captain Duchesne, of the Indian
Department, to reinforce Major Laforce, of the 1st Battalion
embodied militia, who was posted with the two flank companies
of that battalion at the River La Cole. This detachment, after a
fatiguing march of thirty-six miles, chiefly through morasses
and abatis, arrived early in the afternoon of the same day at
Burtonville, and took a position within the River La Cole, a
mile distant from it, in conjunction with a party of thirty
Algonquin and Abenaki Indians, and a few Voyageurs under
Captain McKay, a gentleman of the North-West Company in
the Voyageurs' corps. Major De Salaberry arrived the day
CHAP. LV.] AND THEIR TIMES. 381
following, with the remainder of the Voltigeurs and the
Voyageurs, commanded by Lieutenant.Colonel McGillivray, and
four companies of the volunteer Chasseurs from the parishes of
Chateauguay, St. Constant, St. Philip, and I'Acadie.
" In the meantime the enemy occupied Champlain Town, two
or three miles from the lines, and an earnest invasion was
momentarily expected. Nothing occurred of any consequence
until the 20th, in the morning, when Captain McKay, visiting
the picquet between three and four o'clock, perceived the enemy
fording the River La Cole, and at the same instant heard them
cock their firelocks in the surrounding bushes. He had scarcely
time to apprise the picquet under Captain Bernard Panet, of
their danger, when the enemy, who had surrounded the guard-
hut on all sides, discharged a volley of musketry so close that
their wads set fire to the roof and consumed the hut. The
militia and Indians discharged their pieces, and dashing
through the ranks of the enemy, escaped unhurt, while the
Americans, who had forded the river in two places, mistaking
each other for the enemy in the darkness and confusion of the
night, kept up a brisk fire for near half an hour, in which they
killed and wounded several of their own people. After dis-
covering their error they retired back to Champlain Town,
leaving five of their men wounded, and three or four killed,
who were found by the Indians on the same day. The Ameri-
can party is said to have consisted of fourteen hundred (1,400)
men and a troop of dragoons, and was commanded by Colonels
Pike and Clarke.
" This movement of the enemy gave room to expect another
more vigorous attempt to invade Lower Canada; and on the
22nd, the Governor, by a General Order, directed the whole of
the militia of the province to consider themselves commanded
for active service, and to be prepared to move forward to meet
the enemy as soon as required.
" Lieut.-Colonel Deschambault was ordered to cross the St.
Lawrence at Lachine to Cahuaugo, with the Point Claire,
Riviere du Chene, Vaudreuil, and Longue Point Battalions, and
to march upon I'Acadie. The volunteers of the 1st Battalion
of Montreal Militia, the flank companies of the 2nd and 3rd
Battalions, and a troop of Militia Dragoons, crossed the river
to Longueuil and Laprairie ; and the whole mass of population
382 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LV.
in the district of Montreal made a spontaneous movement
towards the point of invasion with an enthusiasm unsurpassed
in any age or country.
" General Dearborn, who, no doubt, was well informed of the
state of the public mind, in Lower Canada at this crisis, fore-
saw, from the multitude assembled to oppose his progress, and
the hostile spirit of the Canadians, the fruitlessness of an
attempt to invade Lower Canada, and began to withdraw his
sickly and already enfeebled host into winter quarters at
Plattsburg and Burlington.
" All apprehensions of an invasion of Lower Canada for the
present season having disappeared, the troops and embodied
militia were, on the 27th of November, ordered into winter
quarters."*
* Christie's History of the War of 1812, Chap, iv., pp. 90—92.
" The armistice between General Smyth and Sheaflfe after the battle of
Queenston was terminated on the 20th of November, pursuant to notification
to that effect from the former. This and the former armistice, mthout afford-
ing any present advantage, proved in the event materially prejudicial to the
British on Lake Erie. The Americans availed themselves of so favourable
an occasion to forward their naval stores unmolested from Black Rock to
Presqu' Isle [Erie] by water, which they could not otherwise have effected,
but with immense trouble and expense by land, and equipped at leisure
a fleet which afterwards wrested from us the command of that lake." —
Ih., pp. 92, 93.
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 383
CHAPTER LVI.
PART I.
WAR CAMPAIGNS OF 1813 — THREE DIVISIONS OF THE AMERICAN ARMY —
BATTLE OF FRENCHTOWN, AMERICANS DEFEATED — MISREPRESENTATIONS
CORRECTED.
The campaign of 1813 opened auspiciously for the Cana-
dians, in both Upper and Lower Canada, notwithstanding the
fewness of their defenders in regulars, militia, and Indians,
and though they suifered severely in several instances towards
the close of the year.
It was manifest from the movement of the American army
to the frontiers of Upper and Lower Canada, before the close
of the year 1812, that on the opening of the campaign of 1813
they intended to retrieve the disasters and disgraces of the first
year of the war, and make descents upon the colonies in good
earnest. Sir George Prevost, Governor-General, was placed at
great disadvantage for their general defence, as the small
British force then occupying the Canadas, and the wide extent
of frontier the British commander-in-chief had to defend,
rendered it impossible for him to cope with the American
enemy in point of numbers.
The American army, to whom was committed this year the
honour of conquering Canada, was divided, as the year before,
into three divisions : first, the Army of the North, consisting of
18,000 men, commanded by General Hampton, and stationed
along the southern shore of Lake Champlain, on the south
precincts of Lower Canada ; the second, the Army of the
Centre, consisting of 7,000 efiective men, which was again
384 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
subdivided into two divisions, commanded by Generals Dear-
born and Wilkinson, and were posted from Buffalo, at the lower
extremity of Lake Erie, to Sackett's Harbour, at the lower end
of Lake Ontario ; and the third, the Army of the West, consist-
ing of " 8,000 effective men," according to the American account,
commanded by Generals Harrison and Wilkinson, whose limits
extended from Buffalo westward, as far as the British frontier
extended.
After the capture of Detroit by General Brock and his little
army, Colonel Proctor was appointed to command that fort,
with a force of about 600 regulars and a number of Indians —
an entirely insufficient force, but all that could be spared and
provided from the slender forces of Upper Canada. The
American General, Harrison, who succeeded Hull in the com-
mand of the West, organized a large force by the end of 1812,
of over 5,000 men, consisting principally of men from Ohio and
Kentucky. Among the small outposts which Proctor had
established in the neighbourhood of Detroit, was one at French-
town, on the River Raisin, twenty-six miles from Detroit, which
consisted of thirty of the Essex Militia, xmder Major Reynolds,
and about 200 Indians. On the 17th of January, 1813, Brigadier-
General Winchester, commanding a division of the American
army, sent Colonel Lewis with a strong force to dislodge the
British — which he succeeded in doing, after a sharp encounter in
which the Americans lost twelve killed and fifty wounded.
Reynolds retreated to Brownstown, sixteen miles in his rear,
and gave information to Colonel Proctor of the advance of
Winchester's brigade, which now occupied Frenchtown, and
was over one thousand strong.
Colonel Proctor knew that his only hope of success was by
prompt action to fight the enemy in detail, before General
Harrison could unite his whole force to bear on Detroit. He
therefore forthwith assembled all his available force at Browns-
town, and on the 21st pushed on to attack the American camp
at Frenchtown, with about 500 regular soldiers and militia
and (jOO Indians, The attack upon the American camp was
made on the morning of the 22nd ; and the Indians, under the
Wyandot chief Roundhead, speedily turned the enemy's flank
and caused him to retreat — Chief Roundhead with his Indians
taking General Winchester himself prisoner, and delivering
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 385
him unharmed to Colonel Proctor. About 500 of General
Winchester's men had thrown themselves into the houses, where
they were making deadly resistance from fear of falling into
the hands of the Indians, who were greatly exasperated by
this mode of warfare, and assailed and pursued their retreating
but resisting enemies with a ferocity unequalled during the
whole three years' war. Colonel Proctor informed General
Winchester that the houses would be set on fire, and he would
be utterly unable to restrain the Indians, if this kind of war-
fare were persisted in, and they refused to surrender. They at
length surrendered, on being assured that they would be pro-
tected from the Indians. Thirty-two officers and upwards of
500 men were taken prisoners, not one of whom sustained any
injury from their captors, whether regular soldiers, militia, or
Indians.
But many Americans were slaughtered in refusing to sur-
render for fear of the Indians, and determined to fight and
retreat in hopes of making their escape. They suffered severely ;
and on that account several American writers have represented
the Indians at the battle of Frenchtown as committing unheard-
of cruelties upon helpless men, women, and children. Even
President Madison joined in the misrepresentation, as he was
always ready to seize upon any pretext to assail the British
Government for admitting the alliance of the Indians in the
war — forgetful that his Government had repeatedly sought to
do the same thing, but had only succeeded in a few instances.
But in vindication of the Indians and their commander, Colonel
Proctor, the following facts may be stated, which are conclusive
on the subject. In the first place. General Winchester, the com-
mander of the American detachment, was taken prisoner by
the Indians, and instead of being butchered and scalped, was
delivered unharmed by the Wyandot chief Roundhead into
the hands of Colonel Proctor.
However, many of the Americans refused to surrender from
fear of falling into the hands of the Indians, and attempted to
retreat and fight, in hopes of escape, but were mostly killed
in the attempt by the Indians, so greatly exasperated by
the mode of warfare adopted against them from the houses.
Under this pretext most American writers have represented the
Indians, with the sanction of the English, as having committed
VOL. II. — 25
386 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAF. LVI.
unheard-of cruelties against helpless men, women, and children
at the battle of Frenchtown— statements which were pure
fiction, as has been proved to demonstration in Chapter XXXV.
of this history, in the fictions of the alleged " Massacre of Wyo-
ming."
For example, General Harrison, who was one of the few old
American generals employed by the democratic President
Madison in the war, and who was one or two days' march from
Frenchtown, was informed and wrote in a despatch two days
after the battle (24th of January), that " General Winchester
had been taken by the Indians, killed and scalped ; his body
was cut up and mangled in a shocking manner, and one of
his hands cut off ; when not a hair of General Winchester's
head was injured, and he was afterwards exchanged, and
appeared on the Niagara frontier, and was again taken prisoner,
safe and sound, by the British at the battle of Stony Creek.
General Harrison, in his despatches written five days after-
wards, after having ascertained all the facts of the battle,
makes no mention of any cruelties practised by the Indians,
which he doubtless would have done had there been any truth
in the imputations against the Indians or the English soldiers
with whom they acted. He speaks of General Winchester as
among the prisoners, notwithstanding his statement five days
before that he had been killed, scalped, and cut to pieces. The
following facts, given by Mr, Thompson in his " History of the
War of 1812," are conclusive on this afiair of the battle of
Frenchtown, the 22nd of January, 1813 :
" Much has been said by American writers regarding the
conduct of the combined forces of the afiair of Frenchtown.
They have not even stopped to charge British ofiicers and
soldiers with the most enormous cruelties, committed in con-
junction with the Indians, when it was in their power to have
prevented them. "Such have been the contemptible misrepre-
sentations to which many publications, otherwise deserving of
merit, have descended, as well of this as of many other afiairs
during the war; and even amongst a few British subjects they
have gained credence.
" General Harrison, however, in writing his despatches to
Governor Meigs, as well as several officers of his army who
avail themselves of the general express to write to their friends
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 387
in Chillicothe, in most of their letters give the details of the
battle, but seem to he ignorant as regards the greatest part of
that ' Mass'acre' as it has been gravely termed. It is gathered
from these despatches and letters by a Chillicothe journal of
the 2nd of February, 1813, that ' those who surrendered them-
selves on the field of battle were taken prisoners by the British,
while those who attempted to escape were pursued, tomahawked,
and scalped.' Now, even this account, in part, is incorrect ;
for the Indians, by whom they were assailed, were posted there
for the express purpose of cutting off their retreat ; and those who
surrendered to the Indians were safely conducted to the British
camp ; but such was the panic with which these unfortunate
fugitives were seized, that no persuasions on the part of the
Indian chiefs, who were fully disposed to comply with the
orders of Colonel Proctor, could prevail on them to surrender
until they were either wounded and taken, or overtaken in the
chase by their pursuers, when no efforts of the chiefs could
save them from their fury.
"In a le.ter containing copies of despatches from General
Harrison, dated 24th January, 1813, it is stated that 'when the
attack commenced, General Winchester ordered a retreat, but
from the utter confusion which prevailed, this could not be
effected ; and he then told them that every man must take care
of himself, and attempted to make his own escape on horseback,
but was overtaken by the Indians before he had gone a mile,
and killed and scalped. His body was cut up and mangled in
a most shocking manner, and one of his hands cut off.'
" Now, here is an awful Indian tale, manufactured, as many
others have been of like description, which turns out to be a
mere fabrication ; for when General Winchester found himself
pursued in his attempt to escape, he with a few others sur-
rendered themselves to a chief of the Wyandot nation, and ijot
a hair of their heads was hurt, except the injury received from
the fight.
" It is also stated in the same letter that Colonels Allen and
Lewis were among the slain ; in contradiction of which, in
General Harrison's letter to Governor Meigs, dated 29th
January, it is stated that General Winchester and Colonel and
Brigade-Major Gerrard are among the prisoners.
" The conclusion is plain, that had those deluded people not
388 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
been overcome by fear, and surrendered themselves at once,
they might have enjoyed the same safety as did General Win-
chester and his companions."* '
" This spirited and vigorous measure (on the part of Colonel
Proctor) completely disconcerted the arrangements made by
General Harrison for the recovery of Michigan territory, and
secured Detroit from any immediate danger. The House of
Assembly of Lower Canada [as also of Upper Canada] passed
a vote of thanks to Colonel Proctor for the skill and intrepidity
with which he planned and carried into effect this enterprise.
A vote of thanks was also passed to the officers, non-com-
missioned officers, and privates who assisted in its accomplish-
ment ; and Colonel Proctor was immediately promoted to the
rank of brigadier-general by Sir George Prevost, the commander
of the forces, until the pleasure of the Prince Regent should be
known, who was pleased to approve and confirm the appoint-
ment."i-
PART II.
AMERICANS ATTACK AND PLUNDER IN AND ABOUT BROCKVILLE — SUCCESS-
FUL RETALIATORY ATTACK ON OGDENSBURG.
The next military affairs in the order of time, illustrative of
the loyalty and courage of the Canadians, occurred on the
River St. Lawrence, in the neighbourhoods of Prescott and
Brockville. Most of the American invasions were mere raids
for destruction and plunder of property. In the winter of
1813 several of these raids were made from Ogdensburs^ on
the British settlements. "After winter (1813) had fairly set
in, and the St. Lawrence was frozen over, the Americans on
several occasions sent marauding parties across the ice to
pillage and destroy the Canadian settlements. [The American
* Thompson's History of the War of 1812, Chap, xxii., pp. '179—181.
" Terms of capitulation were agreed upon, by which the whole of General
Winchester's command that had survived the fury of the battle were sur-
rendered prisoners of war, amounting to upwards of 600. In this sanguinary
engagement, the loss of the Americans, in killed and wounded, was nearly
500 ; while that of the British was only twenty-four killed and 161
wounded."— Z6., pp. 176, 177.
t Christie's History of the War of 1812, Chap, v., pp. 100, 101.
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 389
mode of giving liberty to Canada.] On the night of the 6th
of February, two companies of riflemen from Ogdensburg,
under command of Captain Forsyth, made a descent on the
town of Brock ville, wounded a sentry, fired several houses, and
carried off a quantity of plunder, together with fifty of the
inhabitants. Several inroads from Ogdensburo; were made :
and the British were anxious to retaliate." (Tuttle.) On the
closing of the session of the Legislature of Lower Canada, the
17th of February, 1813, the Governor-General, Sir George
Prevost, made a tour of inspection of the forts of Upper Canada.
On his arrival at Prescott he was importuned to authorize an
attack upon Ogdensburg, in retaliation for an attack upon
Brockville by the enemy some days previous. He consented to
a demonstration on the river to ascertain the enemy's force ;
and on the ensuing morning (22nd February), as the Governor-
Genei-al departed, accompanied to Kingston by Lieut.-Colonel
Pearson (commander of Prescott), Lieut.-Colonel M'Donnell,
second in command, moved with his party across the river on the
ice, towards Ogdensburg. The enem}^ perceiving the movement,
were prepared to receive him ; and Lieut.-Colonel M'Donnell, im-
pelled by that spirit characteristic of British soldiers, turned
the demonstration into a real attack.
" The enemy was driven from the town after a short contest,
leaving about twenty killed and a considerable number
wounded. Four brass field-pieces, seven pieces of iron ord-
nance, complete, with Several stand of arms and a considerable
quantity of stores, fell into the hands of the victors, who lost
seven killed, and seven officers (including Lieutenant-Colonel
M'Donnell) and forty-one men wounded. After having de-
stroyed two small schooners and two gun-boats left there to
winter, they removed the stores and arms to their own side of the
river at Prescott. This brilliant achievement prevented any
further American forays on the Canadians from Cornwall to
Gananoque for the rest of the winter
390 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVL
PART III.
WINTER PREPARATIONS IN LOWER CANADA FOR THE CAMPAIGN — UNPRE-
CEDENTED MARCH ON SNOW-SHOES OF LOYALIST VOLUNTEERS FROM
NEW BRUNSWICK TO LOWER CANADA— AMERICAN PLAN OF OPERATIONS.
The greatest exertions were made in Canada during tjie
winter to prepare for the ensuing campaign. The Canadian
regiment of Fencibles, the Voltigeurs, the Glengarries, were
recruited with diligence and success, though still without
reinforcements from England — too much engrossed with her
European wars to afford much assistance to the colonies. A
volunteer regiment from New Brunswick came, by permission
and authority, to the assistance of the beleaguered but hitherto
successful Canadians. " The King's Regiment of New Brims-
wick was mustered into the regular army as the 104th Regi-
ment, and sent to Canada for active service. The reoiment
was first formed amongst the Loyalists who had settled in
York county, about Fredericton, in 1784, and on its voluntary
enrolment in the regular army, the Legislature passed com-
plimentary resolutions to officers and men, and presented the
regiment with a handsome silver trumpet. A portion of this
regiment was conveyed to Quebec by sea ; but several companies
made a very trying march on snow-shoes, through an unbroken
country, during very cold weather, to arrive in Canada in time
for the spring campaign." *
" The plan of the American campaign for 1813 was that a
large army under General Dearborn was to threaten Lower
Canada, whilst a determined effort was to be made to retake
Michigan territory, capture the forts of Niagara frontier, and
thus reduce the whole of Upper Canada. This accomplished,
all the armies were to make a joint descent upon Montreal and
Quebec, which would be followed by the occupation of the
* Tuttle, Chap, xxxviii., p. 396.
" The 104th (or New Brunswick Eegiment) marched through from
Fredericton to Upper Canada, several hundreds of miles, with extra-
ordinary celerity, in the month of March, though their route from Frederic-
ton to the River St. Lawrence lay through an uninhabited wilderness
buried in snow, and never before traversed by troops." (Christie's History
of the War of 1812, p. 103.)
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 391
Maritime Provinces, and thus the British would be driven from
the American continent,"*
PART IV.
AMERICAN FLEET ON LAKE ONTARIO SUPERIOR TO THE BRITISH FLEET,
AND, WITH THE ARMY, ATTACKS AND TAKES YORK (TORONTO), AND
AFTER OCCUPYING IT LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, RETIRE WITH MUCH
HASTE.
The American fleet on Lake Ontario was superior to that of
the British, and was being daily augmented at Sackett's Harbour
— their principal navy yard on Lake Ontario. The first descent
was expected to be upon Kingston ; but the American Govern-
ment deemed it too hazardous a game to risk their Lake
armament upon an enterprise against this principal military
depot of the British in Upper Canada, and resolved to direct
their forces against more distant and defenceless places on the
lake.
Commodore Chauncey having equipped his fleet for an ex-
pedition, and received on board upwards of 1,700 troops under
the command of Generals Dearborn and Pike, sailed from
Sackett's Harbour as early as the 25th of April, and on the fol-
lowing evening arrived off York (Toronto) with fourteen sail of
armed vessels ; and on the following day commenced landing
their troops about three miles west of the town — the British
being compelled to retire after making a strong resistance.
The grenadiers of the 8th Regiment, who lost their captain,
M'Neal, were, after a desperate contest, almost annihilated by
the overwhelming numbers of the enemy.
The best account we have read of this expedition against, or
rather raid upon, the town of York, is given by Thompson, and
which I quote at length, relating as it does to what was then
and now is the capital — the defenceless capital — of Upper
Canada ;
" In the month of April, the ice having completely broken
up in the port of Sackett's Harbour, where the American
squadron under Commodore Chauncey had wintered. General
Dearborn, commanding the right division of the Army of the
* Tuttle, Chap, xxxviii., pp. 396, 397.
392 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
Centre, consisting of 4,000 men stationed in that vicinity,
selected 2,000 of the most efficient of his division [American
History of the War, published in New York], and on the 22nd
of the month embarked them on board the fleet, with which he
ascended the lake, and with this force appeared off the harbour
of York, the capital of Upper Canada, on the morning of the
27th.
" The enemy appearing to threaten an attack upon the town,
General SheafFe collected his forces, which consisted of nearly
700 men, including regulars and militia, with about 100
Indians ; and with these he made a most determined resistance
to the landing of the enemy ; but at length, overcome by
numbers, he was compelled to retire ; by which means the
enemy was enabled to effect his landing a short distance above
the fort, which was situated about two miles to the west of the
town, at the entrance of the harbour.
" So soon as the American troops, who were led on by General
Pike, had made good their landing, they formed into two lines
(the first of which was commanded personally by General Pike,
and the rear or reserve line by General Pearce), and in this
order advanced upon the first battery and carried it by assault ;
they then advanced towards the citadel in the same order, and
by the same means captured an intervening battery.
" Here the columns halted, in order to dress the lines for an
attack upon the main works. At this moment a large magazine
accidentally exploded, by which a quantity of stones and
timbers were thrown into the air, and in their fall killed and
wounded a number on both sides, amongst whom was the
American general. Pike.
" The British regulars and militia performed prodigies of
valour, but were overpowered by a force three times their
number, and in a high state of discipline ;* they were com-
pelled to retreat towards the town.
" General SheafFe then held a Council with his principal
officers and civil authorities of the town, by whom it was
advised that he should retreat towards Kingston with the re-
mainder of his troops ; and that the commandant of the militia,
* " The American troops had been preparing for this expedition the whole
winter ; and no pains had been spared in their discipline."
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 393
Lieutenant-Colonel Ghewett, should treat with the American
commander for terms for the surrender of York. .
" At the capture of York the British lost not less than 400
men, 300 of whom were made prisoners of war, and about forty
killed and wounded by the explosion. The Americans lost
378, thirty-eight of whom were killed and two hundred and
twenty-two wounded by the explosion of the magazine. Gen-
eral Pike died of his contusions a few minutes after beinof
carried on board of one of the vessels.*
" On the 8th of May, the American army under General
Dearborn once more evacuated York, after having occupied it
twelve days, S,nd secured much booty.
PAKT V.
AMERICAN FLEET AND ARMY RETURN TO SACKETT's HARBOUR — MAKE PRE-
PARATIONS FOR ATTACKING FORT GEORGE AND THE TOWN OP NEWARK,
WHICH, AFTER A SEVERE BATTLE, THEY TAKE AND OCCUPY.
After evacuating York, the American fleet and army proceeded
again to Sackett's Harbour, where preparations were imme-
diately made for invading the Niagara frontier. On the 20th of
May the American fleet again ascended Lake Ontario, and on
the morning of the 23rd they appeared off the mouth of the
Niagara river, soon after which, the weather being favourable
to their purpose, they attacked Fort George and the town of
Newark (now Niagara), by land and water. Early in the morn-
ing of the 27th of May the enemy commenced a combined
attack upon the fort, having previously, on the 24th and 25th,
* " The people, hitherto unaccustomed to hear of reverses, were irritated at
this success of the enemy, and, as usual upon such occasions, clamoured
against the General [SheafFe], who a few weeks afterwards was succeeded in
the administration of the civil government by Major-General De Eot ten-
burg, and on his return to the Lower Province assumed the command of the
forces in the district of Montreal. It is not ascertained whether his removal
was the result of the displeasure of the commander of the forces [Sir George
Prevost] ; but upon a cool survey of the battle of York, it must be owned
that the honour of the British arms was strenuously and ably maintained by
the small party of men under his command, who, including regulars,
militia, and Indians, did not exceed 600." (Christie's History of the War of
1812, Chap, v., p. 105.)
394 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
materially injured the works by a warm cannonade from their
ships and batteries. A body of about 800 riflemen, under
Colonel Winfield Scott, landed near the Two Mile Creek, while
the fleet ranged up in the form of a crescent, extending from
the north of the Lighthouse to the Two Mile Creek, so as to
enfilade the British batteries by a cross fire. The riflemen,
after forming and ascending the bank, were met by the British,
and compelled to give way in disorder, and return to the
beach, from whence they kept up a smart fire under cover of
the bank. In the meantime, another body of upwards of 2,000
men, under the command of General Lewis, made a landing,
and formed on the beach under cover of a tremendous cannon-
ade of round shot, and showers of grape and canister from the
fleet, that swept the adjacent plain, and compelled the British
to retire. General Vincent, finding the works torn to pieces by
the enemy's artillery, and no longer tenable against so over-
whelming a force, caused the fort to be dismantled, and the
magazines to be blown up, and retreated to Queenston, leaving
the Americans to take possession of the ruins of the fort. The
British loss consisted of fifty-two killed and upwards of three
hundred wounded and missing [more than half the entire force].
The Americans state their loss at thirty-nine killed and a
hundred and eleven wounded.*
PART VI.
THE BRITISH RETREAT TO BURLINGTON HEIGHTS — BATTLE OF STONY CREEK
— DEFEAT OF THE AMERICANS, AND THEIR DISORDERLY RETREAT TO FORT
GEORGE.
" General Vincent, on the ensuing day, having collected all the
forces from Chippewa and Fort Erie, and destroyed or rendered
useless the posts and stores along the frontier, commenced his
retreat towards Burlington Heights, at the head of Lake
Ontario." (Christie.)
* Among the killed of tlie Britisli party was Mr. Allan MacLean, Clerk
of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada, who volunteered his services
with a musket.
" The Americans moved forward in three strong brigades, under
Generals Chandler, Winder, and Boyd, with an advance of light troops and
riflemen, under Colonels Scott and Forsyth, the whole commanded by
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 395
" General Vincent continued his retreat as far as Burlington
Heights ; and on the 1st day of June was followed by an
American army of 3,500 infantry, and about 300 cavalry,
commanded by Generals Chandler and Winder, for the purpose,
as was vainly boasted, of making prisoners of the whole
British army, and thus terminate the contest of the north-
western frontier."
This expected conquest of the whole British army was com-
menced by the affair of Stony Creek, when both of the American
generals themselves were taken prisoners.
On the evening of the 5th of June, the American forces
encamped at the village of Stony Creek, about nine miles from
the British camp at Burlington Heights, with the purpose of
attacking and taking the British position next day. But
General Vincent was on the alert to obtain information as to the
enemy's strength and movements, and dispatched Colonel
(afterwards Major-General) Harvey, with two companies, to
reconnoitre their camp at Stony Creek, and, from the report
received, determined to attack them that very night.
" All the troops, both regulars and militia, that could possibly
be spared from the garrison at Burlington Heights, together
with those who had retreated from Fort George, amounting
in all to 700, were ordered to be in readiness for a movement.
Immediately after dark they commenced an advance towards
Stony Creek, where, after several halts in order to reconnoitre the
country through which they were marching, they arrived be-
tween one and two o'clock on the morning of the 6th of June
Immediately the quarter guard of the enemy was surprised and
taken, and the assailants rushed into the camp, where all was
in apparent security. But such a scene of carnage commenced
— the huzzas of the besiegers ; the yells of the Indians, led on
by Captain Brant ; the clashing of bayonets, and, above all.
the thunder of the cannon and musketry, rendered it truly
appalling. A column of the enemy was at length formed into
some kind of order, but to no purpose ; they were by this time
completely unnerved and dispirited, which, together with the
General Lewis, the next in command to General Dearborn, whose low state
of health compelled him to keep his bed, from whence he issued his orders."
(Thompson's History of the War of 1812, Chap, xxiii., p. 185.)
396 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
darkness of the night and the clouds of smoke, threw them into
the greatest confusion and disorder. Not so, however, with
the British troops ; their plans had been so well concerted, that
every man knew his rallying signal ; they were, therefore, at
all times beyond surprise. The American army, being com-
pletely discomfited, retreated from their bivouac in the greatest
confusion.
" As soon as General Vincent had completed the defeat of the
enemy, he again fell back upon Burlington Heights, taking as
trophies of his victory three field-pieces and a brass field
howitzer, captured from the enemy, besides both their generals,
and about 150 officers, sergeants, and rank and file.
" After the defeat at Stony Creek, the American army, in the
most indescribable manner [helter-skelter, every man for him-
self] retreated towards Fort George [whence they came] without
the least military order or subordination ; in fact, such officers
as could avail themselves of horses on the road, regardless
of the means employed for that purpose, took them and made
their way to the lines with all possible speed, and left the rest
of the army to shift for themselves ; they, therefore, retreated
[or scampered] in small detached parties, some of whom had
exonerated themselves of their arms and equipments. Thus
did they travel [at double-quick] towards their head-quarters
from two or three to a dozen ; and were, in compassion for their
sufferings, succoured by those very people whose houses, a day
or two previous, they had ransacked and plundered."*
* Thompson's War of 1812, Chap, xxiii.
In General Vincent's official despatch relating to this brillant and intrepid
action, he gives the credit of it to Lieutenant-Colonel Harvey. He says :
" To Lieutenant-Colonel Harvey, the Deputy- Adjutant-General, my obliga-
tions are particularly due. From the first moment the enemy's approach
was known, he watched his movements, and afforded me the earliest informa-
tion. To him, indeed, I am indebted for the suggestion and plan of opera-
tions ; nothing could have been more clear than his arrangements, nor
more completely successful in the result." (Christie, Chap, v.)
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 397
PART VII.
GENERAL VINCENT, REINFORCED, PURSUES THE RETREATING ENEMY —
BRILLIANT AFFAIR OF THE BEAVER DAMS, IN WHICH SEVERAL HUN-
DRED AMERICANS SURRENDER TO ONE-FIFTH OF THEIR NUMBER — THE
AMERICANS COOPED UP IN FORT GEORGE — FORT SCHLOSSER AND BLACK
ROCK ATTACKED BY THE BRITISH, AND THE PUBLIC FORTS AND
MAGAZINES DESTROYED OR TAKEN — THE AMERICAN ARMY CANNOT BE
INDUCED TO COME OUT OF FORT GEORGE INTO OPEN FIELD FIGHT.
In a short time General Vincent received some reinforce-
ments, and assumed the offensive, advanced towards Fort George
with a view to investing it — forming his line on the Four Mile
Creek, with his left resting on the lake ; but he ultimately
extended his line from the Twelve Mile Creek (St. Catharines)
to Queenston.
General Lewis, who now had full command (General Dear-
born having resigned), finding his advance posts and foraging
parties continually harassed and frequently made prisoners by
small detachments of British and Canadian troops stationed at
different posts through the country, in order to prevent the
American camp at Fort George from obtaining supplies,
dispatched Colonel Boerstler with about 600 or 700 men, by
way of Queenston, with a view of dislodging a detachment or
picquet posted at a place called the Beaver Dams, a few miles
from Queenston. Colonel Boerstler was surprised by a small
party of Indians under Captain Ker ; and believing themselves
hemmed in by superior numbers, surrendered to Lieutenant
(afterwards Colonel) Fitzgibbon, of the 49th Regiment, who
arrived in time to complete the victory with a detachment of
forty-six rank and file. The prisoners were five to one to the
captors, being 512 in number, including twenty -five officers,
two field pieces, and a stand of colours.
By these successes, the Americans were compelled to confine
themselves to Fort George and its neighbourhood ; and before
the 1st of July the British had formed a line extending from
Twelve Mile Creek, on Lake Ontario (Port Dalhousie), across to
Queenston, on the Niagara river; and the Canadians began
now to retaliate the game of marauding which the Americans
had been practising on the Niagara frontier. From Chippewa
an attack was made on Fort Schlosser, on the American side of
398 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
the river, during the night of the 4th of July, by a small party
of militia and soldiers under Lieutenant-Colonel Clarke, who
surprised the guard at that post, and brought away a brass six-
pounder, upwards of fifty stand of arms, a small quantity of
stores, with a gun-boat and two batteaux. At daybreak in the
morning of the 11th of July, Lieutenant-Colonel Bishop, lately
commanding Fort Erie, crossed over the river with 240 men, con-
sisting of a small party of militia and detachments of the 41st
and 49th Regiments, and effectually surprised the enemy's post
at Black Rock, burning his block-houses, stores, barracks,
dockyard, and a vessel, but were compelled to hasten their
departure by a reinforcement of American militia and some
Indians in their interest, who opened a smart fire under cover
of the surrounding woods, killing thirteen of the British attack-
ing party, and wounding a considerable number — among others,
Lieutenant- Colonel Bishop, mortally ; but the British party
brought away seven pieces of ordnance, two hundred stand of
small arms, and a great quantity of stores.
The two armies were almost in sight of each other at Fort
George ; the commander of the British wished to ascertain the
extent of the enemy's works and his means of defence, and to
draw him into an open field of battle, and therefore, on the 24th
of August, made a demonstration as if to assault the fort, drove
in the picquets ; took several of them, advanced to within a few
hundred yards of the enemy, who, though supported by the
fire upon the British from their batteries on the American side
of the river, could not be induced to leave their entrenchments
and venture in the open field, although the force of the British
did not exceed 2,000, while the American force exceeded 4,000,
but wholly depending upon resources from the American side
for their subsistence, and compelled to act solely on the
defensive, from the hostile front assumed by the British in
the neighbourhood. The American army of 4,000 men, being
cooped up within the limits of the fort, depending for their
supplies from the United States, and not daring to go out of
their fortifications, could do little harm and be of little use to
the American cause, the British commander did not think it
advisable to incur the loss and risk of an assault upon the fort.
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 399
PART VIII.
WAR IN THE WEST — GENERAL PROCTOR's UNSUCCESSFUL SIEGE OF LOWER
SANDUSKY.
In the meantime General Harrison was on the Sandusky
river, making preparations to prosecute the war with vigour, in
order to recover the Michigan territory, as soon as the fleet
fitting out at Erie (Presqu' Isle), under Captain Perry, who had
been dispatched thither by Commodore Chauncey towards the
end of May, should be sufficiently strong to co-operate with the
land forces. General Proctor resolved to make another eflbrt
to defeat General Harrison's purpose to recover Michigan, and
immediately besieged the American fort at Lower Sandusky ;
but in consequence of the withdrawment of the Indians out of
the reach of the enemy's guns, and disinclined to the delay of
a siege, and General Harrison with a respectable force at no
great distance. General Proctor thought proper to raise the
siege and retire to Amherstburg.
PART IX.
FAILURE OP THE EXPEDITION OF SIR GEORGE PREVOST AND COMMODORE
SIR JAMES YEO AGAINST SACKETT's HARBOUR.
During the absence of Commodore Chauncey and his fleet
from Sackett's Harbour, engaged in operations on the Niagara
frontier, an expedition was planned and fitted out at Kingston
against that chief depot of American naval supplies on Ontario.
Sir George Prevost, Commander-in-Chief, and the British Com-
modore, Sir James L. Yeo (just arrived from England), were
both at Kingston, and much was expected from their joint
counsels, and the arrival of some naval officers and sailors from
England. On the 27th of May a body of 800 or 1,000 men
were embarked on board the British flotilla at Kingston, con-
sisting of Wolfe, 24 guns ; Royal George, 24 ; Earl of Moira,
18 ; and four schooners, carrying from ten to twelve guns each,
with a sufficient numbe'r of batteaux ; and at noon the follow-
ing day they were ofi" Sackett's Harbour. The weather was
propitious, and the troops were transferred to the batteaux to
400 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAi'. J^vi.
make their landing under an escort of two gun-boats, com-
manded by Captain Mulcaster — the whole under the immediate
direction of the land and naval commanders-in-chief. They
had not proceeded far when a convoy of American boats, loaded
with troops, was descried doubling Stanley Point, on their way
from Oswego to Sackett's Harbour. The Indians, who had
previously landed on an island, fired upon them as they passed,
and threw them into confusion, while the British boats and
batteaux bore down and captured twelve of them, with about
150 men ; the remainder escaped to Sackett's Harbour.
The landing was deferred until next day, thus giving the
Americans time to spread the alarm throughout the country
— to collect reinforcements from all quarters — to collect and
station their soldiers, with a field-piece, in the surrounding
woods, and make every possible preparation for their defence.
The fine day was followed by a dark, rainy, and stormy night,
which scattered the boats, so that the British could not succeed
in landing in the morning before the Americans had lined the
woods with their men. Nevertheless the British succeeded in
landing ; the enemy retreated, but posting themselves securely
behind large trees, kept up a smart fire on the British.
The fieet in the meantime, as well as small vessels in-
tended to have been landed in time to support the advance
of the troops, were, through the light and adverse wind, a long
way in the rear. Under these circumstances. Colonel Baynes,
the Adjutant-General of the Forces in British North America,
who was charged with this service, found it impossible to bring
up or wait for the arrival of the artillery, and ordered his
detachment to divide and scour the woods. The enemy, dis-
lodged from the woods at the point of the bayonet, fled to their
fort and block-houses, whither they were pursued by the British,
who set fire to their barracks.
At this juncture it was thought by the commanding ofiicer,
Colonel Baynes, that the enemy's block-houses and stockaded
battery could not be carried by assault, even with the assist-
ance of the field-pieces, had they been landed. The fleet were
still too far out of reach to aid in battering them, while the
men were exposed to the fire of the enemy, secure within the
works. The signal of retreat was therefore given to the indio--
nant assailants, and the enterprise was abandoned at a moment
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 401
when the enemy had so far calculated upon a victory on the
part of the British as to set fire to their naval stores, hospital,
and marine barracks, by which all the booty previously taken
at York, and the stores for their new ship, were consumed.
They had also set fire to a frigate on the stocks ; but on dis-
covering the retreat of the British, they succeeded in sup-
pressing the fire, and saved her. The troops were immediately
re-embarked, and returned to Kingston, after having sustained
a loss of 259 in killed, wounded, and missing, while the loss
of the enemy must have been double that number.
Thus terminated this expedition, to the disappointment of
the public, who, from the presence and co-operation of the two
commanders-in-chief, fondly flattered themselves with a far
more brilliant result. This miscarriage, with other reverses at
the commencement of the present campaign, destroyed in the
opinion of the enemy the invincibility our arms had acquired
the preceding autumn.*
PAET X.
OCCURTIENCES ON LAKE ONTARIO — NAVAL MANOEUVRES AND BATTLES.
On Lake Ontario the two naval commanders strove with
indefatigable emulation for the dominion of the lake. Chauncey,
after the capture of Fort George, returned to Sackett's Har-
bour to await the equipment of his new ship, the Pike ; while
his adversary, Sir James Yeo, scoured the lake, and supplied the
British army in the neighbourhood of Fort George with
abundance of stores. In the early part of July, Sir James
fitted out an expedition of boats for Sackett's Harbour, with a
view of cutting out their new ship, then almost rigged and
ready to appear on the lake. He arrived unobserved in the
vicinity of that port, and would probably have efiected his
purpose had not the escape of two deserters from his party,
which had landed for refreshments, and in order to remain con-
cealed until night should favour the enterprise, given the alarm
to the enemy. This unlucky incident induced him to relin-
quish the undertaking and return to Kingston.
Towards the end of July the American fleet again appeared
* Christie's History of the War of 1812, Chap. v.
VOL. IL — 26
402 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
with augmented force upon the lake, and Commodore Chauncey
having received a company of artillery, with a considerable
number of troops under Colonel Scott, proceeded for the head
of the lake, with a view of seizing and destroying the stores
at Burlington Heights, the principal depot of the army on the
Niagara frontier, then occupied by a small detachment under
Major Maule. The design of the enemy against this depot
being suspected, Lieutenant-Colonel Battersby, commanding the
Glengarry Regiment, upon being notified to that effect by
Lieutenant-Colonel Harvey, Deputy-Adjutant-Oeneral, moved
forward from York, and, by a march of extraordinary celerity,
arrived with a reinforcement in time to save the depot, which
the enemy, on finding the British ready to receive them, did
not deem it prudent to attack.
Commodore Chauncey, on learning that York, by the acTvance
of Lieutenant-Colonel Battersby to Burlington Heights, was
left destitute of troops, seized the opportunity and bore away
for that port, which he entered on the 31st of July. Here the
Americans landed without opposition, and having taken posses-
sion of a small quantity of stores found at that place, they set
fire to the barracks and public store-houses, and having re-em-
barked their troops, bore away to Niagara.
It is a coincidence worthy of notice, that on the same day
in which the American commander was employed in burning
the barracks and stores at York, Lieutenant-Colonel Murray
was no less actively employed on the same business at Platts-
burg.
The British fleet sailed from Kingston on the last day of
.July, with supplies for the army at the head of the lake, and on
the 8th of August looked into Niagara, where the enemy's fleet
lay moored. The latter hove up and bore down upon the
British fleet, with which they manoeuvred until the 10th, when
a partial engagement ensued, in which two small vessels (the
Julia and Growler) were cut ofi" and captured by the British.*
* The following graphic account of the manceu\^res and conflicts of the
two fleets is given by the American historian, Brackenridge, in his War of
1812:
" On Lake Ontario, a naval armament, which might be termed formidable
for this inland sea, was arrayed on either side ; and an interesting contest
ensued between two skilful oflicers for the superiority. The General
lAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 403
Commodore Chauncey, somewhat disheartened with the loss
of these, and two other small vessels — the Scourge of eight, and
the Hamilton of nine guns — upset by press of sail to escape,
with the loss of all hands, except sixteen men picked up by the
English, bore up for Niagara, from whence he sailed almost
immediately for Sackett's Harbour, where he arrived on the
13th of August. Here he provisioned his fleet, and instantly
Pike, of twenty-two guns, having been launched, and proving to he an
excellent sailer, Commodore Chauncey was now fully equal, in point of
strength, to his antagonist. Sir James Yeo, though somewhat inferior in
force, had the advantage in an important particular : his ships sailed better
in squadron, and he could therefore avoid or come to an engagement as he
thought proper. It being a matter all-important to the British, to prevent
the Americans from becoming masters of the lake, Sir James prudently
avoided a general action ; while, on the other hand, to bring him to action
was the great object of Commodore Chauncey. On the 7th of Angust the
two fleets came in sight of each other. Commodore Chauncey manoeuvred
to gain the wind. Having passed to the leeward of the enemy's line, and
being abreast of his war-ship, the JVolfe, he fired a few guns to ascertain
whether he could reach the hostile fleet. The shot falling short, he wore,
and hauled upon a wind to the starboard tack ; the rear of his schooners being
six miles astern. Sir James wore also, and hauled upon a wind on the same
tack ; but observing that the American fleet would be able to weather him
in the next tack, he tacked again and made sail to the northward. Commo-
dore Chauncey pursued him. He continued the chase until night ; but the
schooners not being able to keep up, a signal was made to relinquish the
pursuit, and to form in close order. The wind now blew heavily ; and at
midnight two of the schooners, the Scourge and the Hamilton, were found to
have upset in the squall. Lieutenants Winter and Osgood, two valuable
officers, were lost, and only sixteen men of the crews saved [picked up by
the British]. The next morning, the enemy discovering this misfortune,
and having now the superiority, manifested a disposition to engage the
Americans, and bore up for the purpose. Two schooners were ordered to
engage him : but when they were within a mile and-a-half of him, he at-
tempted to cut them off. Failing in this, he hauled his wind, and hove to.
A squall coming on, Commodore Chauncey was fearful of being separated
from his dull sailina: schooners, and ran in towards Niagara and anchored.
Here he received on board, from Fort George, 150 men to act as marines, and
distributed them through his fleet. On the morning of the 9th he again
sailed. At eleven o'clock, after much manoeuvring on both sides, the rear of
the enemy's line opened its fire ; and in fifteen minutes the action became
general on both sides. At half-past eleven, the American weather line bore
up and passed to the leeward, the Growler and Julia excepted, which soon
after tacking to the southward, brought the British between them and the
remainder of the American fleet. Sir James, after exchanging a few shots
404 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
made sail for Niagara, where he remained at anchor until the
British fleet appeared off the harbour, early in the morning of
the 7th of September, when the American fleet again weighed
and bore down upon the British fleet, with which they manoeu-
vred until the 12th, when the latter returned into Amherst Bay,
near Kingston. During these Ave days but few shots were
exchanged between the larger ships, without any injury to
either side. The Americans, however, had much the advantage
in weight of metal and long guns.
The fleets again met on the 28th of September, ofi" York,
when an engagement ensued for nearly two hours, in which the
Wolfe, commanded by Sir James Yeo, lost her main and mizen-
top-masts, and would probably have been captured had not the
Royal Oeorge, commanded by Captain Mulcaster, run in be-
tween the Wolfe and the Pike, taking the latter in a raking
position, so as to aflbrd the Wolfe an opportunity of hauling
off and clearing away the wreck. This ati'air terminated in the
retreat of the British fleet under Burlington Heights, whither
the enemy did not think proper to pursue it.
On the 1st of October, the American fleet set sail from Fort
George with a CQjivoy of troops for Sackett's Harbour, where
an expedition was preparing whose destination was as yet
unknown. The British fleet left their anchorage under Bur-
lington Heights on the next day, and came in sight of the
enemy ; but no attempt was made to bring on a general engage-
ment. The American fleet, on their way to Sackett's Harbour ;
fell in with and captured five small vessels out of seven, with
upwards of 250 men of De Watteville's Regiment, from York,
bound for Kingston, where an attack was apprehended. This
loss, though apparently trifling in itself, was severely felt, by
reason of the few forces in the Upper Provinces.
with the American commodore's ship, pursued the Groivler and Julia. A
fire commenced between them, which continued until one o'clock in the
moisiing of the 10th, when, after a desperate resistance, the two schooners
were compelled to yield. The fleets had lost sight ot each other in the
night ; but as Sir James, on the next day, when they were again visible,
showed no disposition to renew the action. Commodore Chauncey returned
to Sackett's Harbour. A victory for this afl'air was claimed for the British
commander." (Brackenridge's History of the War of 1812, etc., Chap, viii.,
pp. 121, 122.)
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 405
For the remainder of the season nothino; of moment occurred
on this lake ; and indeed the naval commanders appeared to
have considered the question of too great importance to their
respective Governments to stake the fate of war in Upper
Canada upon a decisive naval engagement.*
PART XI.
OCCURRENCES ON LAKE ERIE AND IN THE WEST — LOSS OF THE BRITISH
FLEET — EVACUATION OF DETROIT AND THE TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN
BY GENERAL PROCTOR, WHO IS PURSUED IN HIS RETREAT UP THE
THAMES, AND DEFEATED BY GENERAL HARRISON, AND IS AFTERWARDS
TRIED AND CONDEMNED TO BE SUSPENDED AND DEPRIVED OF HIS
PAY FOR SIX MONTHS.
The operations on Lake Erie and in the West were disastrous
to the British cause during the latter part of the summer and
early autumn of 181.3. General Harrison, with an army of
8,000 men on the Miami river, only awaited for the equipment
of the American fleet fitting out under Commodore Perry, at
Presqu' Isle (Erie), to move his forces against Detroit, and to
carry on offensive operations against the British in the neigh-
bourhood of Lake Erie. Captain Barclay, who had early in the
summer assumed the command of the British squadron on
Lake Erie, blockaded the American fleet, so as to prevent their
crossing the bar at Presqu' Isle (which they could not effect
without unshipping their guns) until the end of August ;
when, having occasion to bear away for Long Point,*!- t'he enemy
seized the moment of his absence and crossed the bar. Find-
ing on his return the enemy ready for the lake, and too power-
* Christie, Chap, v., pp. 126—130.
t It was this episode in Captain Barclay's proceedings which resulted in
the loss of British supremacy on Lake Erie, the loss of his fleet, his own
wounding, the death of most of his officers and sailors. General Proctor's
compulsory evacuation of Detroit and the Michigan territory, his retreat
into Canada, his defeat on the Thames at the Moravian village, involving
the loss of many of his men, with upwards of 100 Indians, including
famous Chief Tecumseli. We do not desire to dwell upon this dark spot in
the life of Captain Barclay ; but the whole mystery is explained in the
Mrs. Amelia Harris's Memoirs of her father and the early settlement of
Long Point (and her authority cannot be questioned.) See Chapter XLI.
of this History, pp. 425.
406 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
ful for his small squadron, he bore away for Amherstburg, to
await the equipment of the Detroit, recently launched.
Commodore Perry sailed shortly after him for the head of the
lake, and appeared at the commencement of September, for
several days successively, off Amherstburg, in defiance of the
British squadron, retiring every evening to his anchorage at
Put-in-Bay. The British forces in Michigan territory and its
neighbourhood, under General Proctor, falling short of supplies
for which they depended solely upon the fleet, the captain had
no other alternative than that of risking a general naval en-
gagement. With this resolution he made sail from Amherst-
burg on the 9th of September, manned with only fifty or sixty
seamen (including a small reinforcement of thirty-six men
from Lake Ontario), and detachments from the 41st and Royal
Newfoundland Regiment as marines. On the 10th, in the
morning, the enemy's fleet was descried at anchor in Put-in-
Bay, which immediately weighed and bore down upon the
British squadron, while the wind blowing a gentle breeze from
the south-west, turning round to the south-east, gave the enemy
the weather gage. At a quarter before twelve the British
commenced firing, which was in ten minutes afterwards re-
turned by the enemy, who bore up for close action. The
engagement continued with unabated fury until half -past two,
when the enemy's principal ship being rendered unmanageable,
Commodore Perry left her in charge of his first lieutenant,
Yarnal, and hoisted the pendant on board the Niagara. Soon
after Commodore Perry had left the Lawrence, her colours
were struck, but the British, from weakness of their crews and
destruction of their boats, were unable to take possession of her.
It was at this anxious and interesting juncture that the fate
of the day seemed to poise in favour of the British ; and Com-
modore Perry even despaired of the victory, when a sudden
breeze revived his hopes, and tvirned the scale in his favour.
This fortunate commander, finding the Niagara had suffered
lightly in the engagement, made a desperate effort to retrieve
the fortune of the day, and taking advantage of the breeze,
shot ahead of the Lady Prevost, Queen Charlotte, and Hunter,
raking them with her starboard guns, and engaged the Detroit,
which, being raked in all directions, soon became unmanao-e-
able. The Niaga.ra then bore around ahead of the Queen
CHAP. LVl.] AND THEIR TIMES. 407
Charlotte, and hauling up on starboard tack, engaged that ship,
giving at the same time a raking fire with her larboard guns
to the Cld'ppewa and the Little Belt, while the smaller vessels,
closing to grape and canister distance, maintained a most
destructive fire. This mastei^ly and but too successful manoeu-
vre decided the contest. Captain Barclay being severely and
dangerously wounded, Captain Finnis, of the Queen Charlotte,
killed, and every commander and officer second in command
either killed or disabled, the Detroit and Queen Charlotte,
perfect wrecks, after a desperate engagement of upwards of
three hours, were compelled to surrender.
By this decisive action, the whole of the British squadron on
Lake Erie was captured by the enemy, who now became masters
of the lake. The enemy lost in this action twenty-seven men
in killed and ninety-six men wounded. The British lost three
officers and thirty-eight men killed, and nine officers and
eighty-five men wounded.
The prisoners were landed at Sandusky, and treated with the
greatest humanity by the American commodore, who paroled
Captain Barclay, and treated that gallant officer with all the
kindness and attention which his unsuccessful bravery deserved.
The British army in possession of the Michigan territory and
the neighbourhood of Detroit, by this disastrous defeat, were
deprived of every prospect of obtaining future supplies from
Kingston by way of Lake Ontario, and a speedy evacuation of
Detroit, and a retreat towards the head of that lake became
inevitable. »
General Harrison having received reinforcements amountinor
to 7,000 or 8,000 men, including 4,000 volunteers from Kentucky
under Samuel Shelby, the ex-governor of that State, and an old
revolutionary officer, was conveyed by Commodore Perry, in
his flotilla, with all the troops and stores, from the mouth of
the Miami to the Canadian shore, except the thousand dragoons
who were to advance by land, and so order their march that
they might arrive in the neighbourhood of Maiden at the same
time with the infantry. General Harrison occupied Amherst-
burg the evening of the 23rd of September, General Proctor
having previously abandoned it and fallen back upon Sand-
wich, after having set tire to the navy yard, barracks, and
public stores at the former place.
408 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
General Harrison, on his arrival, having found the different
points evacuated, invested General McArthur with the chief
command of these garrisons, and prepared to pursue the retreat-
ing army up the River Thames, with a force of 3,000 men,
including Colonel Johnson's corps of dragoons, consisting of
1,000. General Harrison occupied Sandwich the 27th of
September, and on the 2nd of October he marched in pursuit
of the shattered remains of the British forces under General
Proctor. In this, his reverse of fortune, the Indians, under
Colonel Elliot, of the Indian Department, with Tecumseh, still
adhered to his standard with unshaken fidelity, and covered his
retreat.
On the 4th of October, General Harrison came up with the
rear-guard of the British, and succeeded in capturing the whole
of their ammunition and stores. General Proctor, under this
second reverse of fortune, by which he was left destitute of the
means of subsistence or defence, found himself compelled to
stake the fate of the remnant of his small army on a general
engagement. Accordingly he assumed a position on the right
bank of the River Thames, near the Indian village of Moravian
Town — the left resting on the river supported by a field-piece,
his right on a swamp, at a distance of 300 yards from the
river, and flanked by the whole Indian force attached to the
division. The intermediate ground, covered with lofty trees,
was dry and somewhat elevated. Here General Proctor formed
his troops into line, to the number of 500 or 600. The Indians
under Tecumseh amounted to 1,200. In this position he
awaited the approach of the enemy, who, on the morning
of the 5th of October, passed the river at a rapid twelve miles
below the Moravian village, and came up with the British
in the afternoon. General Harrison drew up his men in two
lines, and secured his left flank, which was opposed to the
Indians, by a division thrown back en potence ; and without
any previous engagement by infantry, ordered his mounted
Kentuckians (accustomed from their boyhood to ride with
extraordinary dexterity through the most embarrassed woods)
to charge at full speed upon (the open line of) the British,
which had effected before the latter had time to discharo-e
their third fire. This cavalry charge of the enemy on the
British line decided the issue of the day. The line gave way
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 409
at the charge ; the troops, worn down with fatigue and hunger,
dispirited by the unpromising appearance of the campaign,
became totally routed, and for the most part surrendered them-
selves prisoners, while General Proctor and his personal staff
sought safety in flight.
To the left of the enemy's position, which was opposed to
the Indians, the battle raged with more obstinacy. This part of
the enemy's line had even given way until a column under ex-
Governor Shelby was brought up to its support. These faithful
allies continued to carry on the contest with the left of
the American line with furious determination, encouraged by
the presence of Tecumseh, until finding all hopes of retrieving
the day to be in vain — General Proctor and his soldiers having fled
or surrendered — they yielded to the overwhelming numbers of
the enemy, and left the field — upwards of 100 of them having
fallen in battle, and the bodies of 33 of them being found
around the dead body of their famous chief and warrior,
Tecumseh ; celebrated no less for his humanity than for his
bravery, his eloquence, and his influence among the Indian
allies of the British in the West.
Upwards of 600 of the British, including twenty-five officers,
were made prisoners of war. Those who escaped made the
best of their way to Ancaster, a few miles from Burlington
Heights, exposed at an inclement season to all the horrors of
the wilderness, of hunger, and famine. The number thus
escaped to that place amounted to only 246, including the
general and seventeen ofiScers.
This disaster of the British arms in that quarter seems not
to have been palliated by those precautions and that presence
of mind which, even in defeat, reflects lustre on a commander.
In rapid retreats from a pursuing enemy cumbrous and useless
baggage is abandoned, and bridges and roads are destroyed and
rendered as impassable as possible, in order to impede the
progress of the pursuers ; but General Proctor encumbered
himself with a cumbrous load of baggage, and left the bridges
and roads in his rear entire, to the advantage of his pursuers.
Whether this error and neglect arose from contempt of the
enemy, or from disobedience of the commanding officer's orders,
is not well understood ; but the defeat led to the harshest
recrimination, and involved in unmerited disgrace the division
410 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
of the brave troops that had served with honour in the Michigan
territory; and General Proctor was subjected to a trial by
court-martial for his conduct in the whole affair — censured
and deprived of his pay for six months.
PART XII.
AMERICANS BURN MORAVIAN TOWN, BEFORE RETURNING TO DETROIT — FORM
ALLIANCE WITH INDIANS, WHICH THEY HAD EXCLAIMED SO MUCH
AGAINST ON THE PART OF THE BRITISH — ARE INTOXICATED WITH THEIR
SUCCESSES IN THE WEST — MAGNIFICENT CLOSE OF THE YEAR 1813, AS OF
1812, IN BEHALF OF CANADIANS, BOTH IN UPPER AND LOWER CANADA
— CANADIAN VICTORY OF ISLE-AUX-NOIS — SPLENDID CANADIAN VIC-
TORIES OF CHATEAUGUAY' AND CHRYSTLER's FARM — AMERICAN ARMIES
RETREAT INTO WINTER QUARTERS.
The American army returned to Detroit after the battle of
Moravian Town ; but before doing so, they consigned the town to
the flames, assigning as a justification of the savage act against
the unoffending Christian Moravian Indians, a retaliation for
what they called the massacre of River Raisin.
During General Harrison's absence from Detroit, a few of
the Indian tribes tendered their services to General McArthur,
to raise the hatchet against the British, and their proffered
services were readily accepted — showing that, according to the
American rule of judging, the alliance of the Indians with the
United States was quite right, while with England it was all
wrong and barbarous.
The success of the American arms on Lake Erie and its sur-
rounding shores so intoxicated and bewildered them, that, in
their subsequent movements, they calculated upon nothing
but victory and conquest, made no allowance for failure in any
point. " Canada must now be ours " was their exulting and arro-
gant language. But they had overlooked the fact that, however
gloomy the prospects of the Western Canadians were in
October of the year 1813, there were remaining elements of
strength with them — their courage and zeal were unabated,
and even increased, by the transactions of the months of dis-
aster ; their loyalty to their principles, and their love of their
independence, were intensified rather than enfeebled ; they would
not be a conquered peoijle ; and before the end of the year
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 411
1813, the American armies had to relinquish every inch of
Canadian soil both in Upper and Lower Canada.
But to present a connected and intelligent view of the
magnificent close of the year 1813, as was that of 1812, we
must first turn to the American campaigns against Lower
Canada in 1813 ; and the defeats and want of success for
several months in Upper Canada were more than compensated
by the heroic deeds and splendid success of both the English
and French defenders of Lower Canada, as well as by victories
gained in Upper Canada in the months of November and
December.
The Isle-aux-Nois was termed the key of Lower Canada, and
its old fortifications had been repaired, and three gun-boats sent
thither from Quebec. The little garrison was under the com-
mand of Lieutenant-Colonel George Taylor, Inspecting General
Field Officer (then major of the 100th Regiment), who, appre-
hending, from previous private information, a combined attack
from the American naval force on Lake Champlain and the
troops in the neighbourhood of his post, commanded by the
Brigadier-Generals Smyth and Clarke, lost no time in equipping
the three gun-boats lying unemployed for want of seamen ;
and Lieiitenant-Colonel Taylor having no sailors, he manned
the gun-boats from his regiment, with three artillerymen for
each boat, and took the precaution to man two batteaux with
a detachment of soldiers, for the double purpose of rendering
assistance to the ffun-boats in the event of their beinff either
sunk or disabled in the eno-ao-ement, or to assist in boarding:
if it should be found necessary. The enemy, discovered in ap-
proaching, consisted of the sloops of war Growler and Eagle,
fitted out in the most complete manner, each carrying eleven guns
{eighteens, twelves, and sixes), long eighteens on pivots, with
complements each of fifty-five men, comprehending a company
of marines, which they had received at Champlain the evening
previous to the engagement ; the whole under the command of
the United States navy, The admirable execution with their
small arms of the two small detachments of soldiers landed
on the east side of the river, and the well-directed fire from the
gnn-boats, of round and grape shot, completely decided the
fate of the action, which the enemy gallantly contested from
half-past four to half -past eight in the morning, and did not
412 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
surrender until further resistance became utterly unavailing —
one of the vessels being run aground to prevent her from
sinking.
The whole force of the British in this affair was only 108.
The men killed on board the American vessels were thrown
overboard by their surviving comrades ; the prisoners amounted
to 100 men, of whom many were wounded. Of the captors,
not a man was killed, and only three severely wounded. The
naval force of the enemy on Lake Champlain was, by the
capture of these vessels, almost annihilated, while it afforded
the British immediate and effectual means for offensive opera-
tions on that lake, and checked the invasion meditated on
Lower Canada.
The American Government, with a view of conquering Lower
Canada, had been at considerable pains and expense in erecting
barracks, hospitals, and magazines at different points along Lake
Champlain, particularly at Burlington, Plattsburg, Champlain,
and Swanton, in the neighbourhood of the Canadian frontiers —
all under the direction of the two American generals, Moore
and Hampton. To counteract these movements, the captured
vessels, Growler and Eagle — re-named the Shannon and Brock
— were speedily put in commission, and the three gun-boats
being put in repair, the small squadron was placed under the
command of Captain Bring. Still there were no sailors ; but,
fortunately, at this juncture the Wasp sloop-of-war arrived
from England at Quebec, and Captain Everard, her commander,
was ordered to transfer his crew to the Shannon and other
vessels, and take command of the little fleet on Lake Cham-
plain.
On the 29th of July the fleet took 900 regulars from the 13th,
100th, and 103rd Regiments, with some artillery, and a number of
Canadian militia, who acted as batteaux men, and proceeded up
the lake, landing near Plattsburg on the 31st, without meeting
any opposition — the American general, Moore, with 1,500 men,
having retreated at the approach of the British. Colonel
John Murray, who was in command of the British, took pos-
session of the arsenals, etc., and after having embarked all the
warlike stores, of which a considerable quantity was found in
the arsenal, and having destroyed such as he could not con-
veniently take away, set fire to the enemy's arsenal, public
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 413
buildings, commissariat stores, and barracks, recently erected,
and capable of accommodating from 4,000 to 5,000 men. While
the troops were thus employed during the whole of the night.
Captains Everard and Pring, in the Growler and Eagle, with a
gun-boat proceeded to Burlington, where General Hampton
lay encamped with 4,000 men, and threw that place into the
utmost consternation. Having captured and destroyed, within
sight of the American forces, four vessels, Captain Everard
returned to Plattsburg, where the troops were re-embarked, and
proceeeded to Swanton. Colonel Murray, while on the way
thither, sent a detachment to Champlain for the purpose of
destroying the barracks and block-house at that port. The
main body having visited Swanton, and effected the purpose of
the expedition to the fullest extent of his Excellency the
Governor-General's orders, returned to the Isle-aux-Nois, where
they arrived the 4th of August, without the loss of a man, and
having been completely successful.
But these successes were only preliminary to two victories
remarkable in the annals of military warfare, considering the
disparity in the number and means of the parties concerned —
known as the battles of Chateauguay and Ohrystlers Farm.
General Hampton, after having transported his force across
Lake Champlain, lay encamped some days at Cumberland
Head, near Plattsburg. On the 20th of September he entered
Lower Canada at Odletown, at the lower extremity of Lake
Champlain, with upwards of 5,000 men. The road leading from
thence to I'Acadie, and the open country in the neighbourhood of
Montreal, lies through a swamp of about fifteen miles, which had
been cut up and rendered almost impracticable' by abatis
since the preceding campaign, by the Voltigeurs under Lieute-
nant-Colonel De Salaberry, and guarded by some Voltigeurs and
Indians. Deterred by these obstructions. General Hampton
evacuated Odletown on the 22nd of September, and moved with
his whole force westward, toward the head of Chateauguay river,
under pretext of the impracticability of advancing through the
Odletown road for want of water for his cavalry and cattle, ow-
ing to the extraordinary drought of the season. Colonel De Sala-
berry, with the Canadian Voltigeurs, on ascertaining the route
the enemy had taken, moved in like manner to Chateauguay,
and by his skilful precautions and arrangements of defence
414 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
and attack, he gained advantage in several skirmishes with
scouting and advance parties of the enemy — thus leading his
Voltigeurs for the first time into action, and acquiring a just
confidence in the valour of his countrymen, which a few days
afterwards they nobly exemplified under their gallant leader at
Chateauguay. Finally he assumed a judicious position in a
thick wood on tlie left bank of the Chateauguay river, at a
distance of two leagues above the Turk, or confluence of the
English and Chateauguay rivers, where he threw up temporary
breastworks of logs, covering his front and i-ight flank with
extended abatis, while his left was covered by the river. Here
he resolved to await the enemy and maintain his ground with
a Spartan handful of Canadians against the whole strength of
the invading army. In his rear there was a small rapid where
the river was fordable ; this he covered with a strong breast-
work and guard ; keeping at the same time a strong picquet of
the Beauharnois Militia in advance of the right bank of the
river, lest the enemy, approaching under cover of the forest,
might cross the ford and dislodge him from his ground.
The occupancy of this position General Hampton justly con-
sidered of the first importance to the ulterior object of the
campaign against Montreal, as the country from thence to the
mouth of the Chateauguay, being principally open and culti-
vated, aflforded no strong points to check his progress to the St.
Lawrence, and prevent his junction with General Wilkinson's
division ; but which in fact was not yet in readiness to move.
General Hampton, in the meantime, to distract and divide the
attention of the British, directed Colonel Clarke to carry on
a petty warfare on the eastern side of Lake Champlain ; and
that ruthless depredator invested the settlements in Missisquoi
Bay, where he plundered the inhabitants in the most wanton
manner.
On the 21st of October, General Hampton again entered
Lower Canada, having early in the morning of that day dis-
patched his light troops and a regiment of the line, under
Brigadier-General Izard, to dislodge a small picquet of sedentary
militia, at the junction of the Outarde and Chateauguay-
rivers, where the main body arrived on the 22nd. On the
24th, having opened and completed a large and practicable
road from his position at Four Corners (a distance of twenty-
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 415
four miles), through woods and morasses, which Lieutenant-
Colonel De Salaberry, on returning from the Four Corners, had
broken up and embarrassed with abatis, General Hampton
brought' forward the whole of his artillery (ten field-pieces)
and stores to his new position — about seven miles from Lieut.-
Colonel De Salaberry's post.
From this point General Hampton dispatched Colonel Purdy
with a light brigade, and a strong body of infantry of the line,
at an early hour of the night of the 25th, with orders to gain
the Ford, and fall on the rear of Lieutenant-Colonel De
Salaberry's position ; while the main body were to commence
the attack in front. Purdy's brigade proceeded, but were mis-
led and bewildered in the woods, and did not gain the point of
attack as directed by the commanding officer. General Hamp-
ton, however, advanced next morning (26th October) under the
expectation of having the intended attack at the Ford, and at
ten o'clock made his appearance with about three thousand five
hundred men, under General Izard, on the high road leading
to the abatis, and drove in a picket of twenty-five men, who
falling back on a second picket made a resolute stand, and
maintained a smart fire upon the enemy. Lieutenant-Colonel
De Salaberry, upon hearing the musketry, promptly advanced
with the light company of the Canadian Fencibles, commanded
by Captain Ferguson, and two companies of his Voltigeurs, com-
manded by Captains Chevalier and Jucheseau Duchesnay. The
first of these companies he posted on the right, in front of the
abatis, in extended order, its right skirting on the adjoining
woods and abatis, among which were distributed a few Abena
qui Indians. Captains Chevalier and Duchesnay's companies
of Voltigeurs, in extended order, occupied the ground from the
left of this company to the River Chateauguay, and the third
company, under Captain L. Jucheseau Duchesnay, with the
sedentary militia, under Captain Lougtain, were thrown back
en potence along the margin of the river for the purpose
of flanking, or preventing a flank fire from the enemy in the
event of his appearing on the opposite side of the river. The
enemy in the meantime advanced with steadiness in open
column of sections to within musket shot, when Lieutenant-
Colonel De Salaberry discharged his rifle as signal to commence
firing, at which a mounted ofiicer was seen to fall. The
416 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERiCA [CHAP. LVl.
bugles sounded, and a quick fire was immediately opened upon
the enemy who wheeled up into line, and commenced a fire in
battalion vollies, which, from the position of their line, was
almost totally thrown to the right of the Canadians, and of no
effect whatever. They, however, soon changed their front
parallel to their adversaries, by facing to the right, and filing
up with speed, when the engagement became general.
The retirement of the few skirmishers, rather advanced in
the centre of the line, being mistaken by the enemy for a flight,
an universal shout ensued, which was re-echoed by the Cana-
dians, and the reinforcements in reserve under Lieutenant-
Colonel McDonnell, while Lieutenant-Colonel De Salaberry as
a ruse de guerre {like Gideon with his trumpets and 300 men,
Judges, vii.), ordered the bugles placed at intervals, in the
abatis, to sound an advance ; this had the desired effiect, and
checked the ardour of the enemy, who suspected that the
Canadians were advancing in great numbers to circumvent them.
The noise of the engagement brought Colonel Purdy's division
on the opposite side of the river, which, having driven in the
picket of the sedentary militia under Captain Bruguier, were
pressing on for the ford at which Lieutenant-Colonel De
Salaberry ordered the light company of the 3rd Battalion em
bodied militia, under Captain Daly, to cross and take up the
ground abandoned by the picquet. Captain Daly with his com-
pany crossed the ford, and having advanced fell in with and
drove back the advanced guard of the Americans on the main
body, which still pressed forward and compelled him in his turn
to fall back. Having repulsed Captain Daly's company, they
were moving on in overwhelming numbers with eagerness and
speed close to the bank of the river, until opposite to Captain
L. Jucheseau Duchesnay's company, which hitherto lay con-
cealed, and now at the word of command from Lieutenant-
Colonel De Salaberry, opened so unexpected and effectual a
fire upon the enemy, as to throw him into the utmost disorder,
and to occasion a tumultuous and precipitate retreat.
General Hampton finding his arrangements disconcerted by
the total route of the division on the right bank, withdrew his
forces in good order at half -past two in the afternoon, without
having made a single effbrt to carry the abatis and entrench-
ments at the point of the bayonet, leaving Lieutenant-Colonel
CHAP. LVl.] AND THEIR TIMES. 417
De Salaberry, with scarcely 300 Canadians, masters of the field
of action.
Towards the close of the engagement, Sir George Prevost,
with Major-General De Watteville, arrived on the ground, and
witnessed in person the judicious arrangements and successful
exertions of Lieutenant-Colonel De Salaberry and his gallant
comrades and countrymen, whose prowess on the occasion
called forth the warmest encomiums of the commander of the
forces, and gave them a just claim to the disinterested and im-
partial applause of history.
The fatigues and privations experienced by General Hamp-
ton's troops, exposed for several weeks to the inclemency of the
season, demoralized them to the native rawness of new recruits,
and rendered them no more capable of co-operating with
General Wilkinson's division in the combined movement
against Montreal, They shortly after fell back on Plattsburg
and retired to winter quarters.
The Canadian Victory of " Chrystlers Farrti." — The next
expedition against Montreal was to proceed down the St.
Lawrence, under the command of General Wilkinson.* The
American forces to about 10,000 men rendezvoused towards
the end of October on Grenadier Island, near Kingston, where
General De Rottenburgh confidently expected an attack, and was
prepared for it ; but General Wilkinson was not so disposed,
and, after experiencing much foul weather, commenced his
movement under cover of the American fleet, and on the Srd of
November slipt into the St. Lawrence with a fiotilla of upwards
of three hundred boats of various sizes, escorted by a division
of gun-boats. He proceeded to within three miles of Prescott
and landed his troops on the American shore, who proceeded
downwards by land to a bay or cove, two miles below Ogdens-
burgh, in order to avoid the British batteries at Prescott, while
the flotilla passed them in the night of the 6th, with little
injury from the cannonade of the British batteries.
The movements of the flotilla down the St. Lawrence
having been ascertained at Kingston, General De Rottenburgh
detached a small force from that port, consisting of the 49th
* "General Wilkinson was called from the South to assixme the command
of the American forces in the North, in the room of General Dearborn,
which now with General Hampton's division, amounted to about 18,000, to
VOL. II. — 27
418 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [^HAP. LVl.
Recjiment, commanded bv Lieutenant-Colonel Plenderleath, of
the 89th Regiment, and some Voltigeurs, which, when rein-
forced by Lieutenant-Colonel Pearson with a party of the Cana-
dian Fencibles from Prescott, amounted to about 800 rank and
file, the whole commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Morrison, of
the 89th Regiment, and accompanied by the Deputy- Adjutant-
General.
This corps of observation proceeded under the escort of a
small division of gun-boats, commanded by Captain Mulcaster^
R.N., in pursuit of the enemy ; and on the 8th came up with
them at Point Iroquois. General Wilkinson had on the pre-
ceding day directed Colonel Macomb to land on the British
shore with 1,200 men, in order to clear the coast to the head of
the Long Sault, of the militia along the shore, from various
parts of the country. On the 18th this division was reinforced
by Brigadier-General Brown's Brigade, with a body X)f dragoons
from the American shore. On arriving at the head of the Long
Sault, the whole of the eli'ective men, except such as were re-
quired to navigate the boats down the Rapids, were landed
under the orders of Brigadier-General Boyd, who was to pro-
ceed down the land in the rear of General Brown's division to
the foot of the Long Sault.
On the 10th Lieutenant-Colonel Morrison, with his gun-
boats, visited the American post at Hamilton, where he landed
and took possession of a considerable quantity of provisions
and stores belonging to the American army, with two pieces
of ordnance. Lieutenant -Colonel Harvey, in the meantime,
followed up the enemy, who in the evening were observed
advancing from the woods in considerable numbers, with a
body of cavalry ; but upon receiving a few rounds from three
field-pieces fell back for the night. (Some smart cannonading
took place in the meantime between the British and American
gun-boats.)
Battle of Ghrystlers Farm. — On the ensuing day, Lieutenant-
Colonel Morrison pressed so closely upon the rear of General
which General Harrison's division was ordered to be added. Such were the
gigantic and formidable preparations for the capture of Montreal, w^here the
American soldiers were promised, as an additional inducement, good winter
quarters." (Thompson's History of the War of 1812, Chap, xxvi., p. 209.)
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 419
Boyd's division as to compel him to concentrate his forces and
give battle. The enemy's force, consisting of two brigades of
infantry and a regiment of cavalry, amounting to between three
and four thousand men, moved forward about two o'clock in
the afternoon from Chrystler's Point, and attacked the British
advance, which gradually fell back to the position which had
been selected for the detachment to occupy — the right resting
on the river, and the left on a pine wood, between which there
were about 700 yards of open ground, the troops on which
were thus disposed :
The flank companies of the 49th Regiment, the detachment
from the Canadian regiment, with one field-piece, under Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Pearson, on the right, a little advanced on the
road. Three companies of the 89th Regiment, under Captain
Barnes, with a gun, foi-med in echelon, with the advance on its
left supporting it. The 49th and the 89th, thrown more to
the rear, with a gun, formed the main body and reserve, ex-
tending to the woods on the left, which were occupied by the
Voltigeurs under Major Herriot, and the Indians under Lieu-
tenant Anderson.
At about half past two the action became general, and the
enemy endeavoured, by moving forward a brigade from his
right, to turn the British left, but was repulsed by the 8C'th
Regiment forming en iwtence with the 49th Regiment, and
moving forward in that direction, in echelon, followed by the
89th. When within half musket shot, the line was formed
under a heavy but irregular fire from the enemy. The 49th
was directed to charge the American guns, posted opposite the
Canadian guns, but it became necessary, when within a short
distance of them, to check this forward movement in conse-
quence of a charge from the American cavalry on the right,
lest they should wheel about and fall upon the rear ; but they
were received in so gallant a manner by the companies of the
89th under Captain Barnes, and the well-directed fire of the
artillery, that they quickly retreated ; and by a charge from
those companies one gun was gained. The enemy immediately
concentrated their force to check the British advance, but such
was the steady continuance and well-directed fire of the troops
and artillery that about half-past four they gave way at all
points from an exceeding strong position, endeavouring by
420 THE LOYALISTS OF AMEKICA [CHAP. LVL
their light infantry to cover their retreat, who were soon driven
away by a jvidicious movement made by Lieutenant-Colonel
Pearson.
The British detachment for the night occupied the ground
from which the enemy had been driven.
This (called the Battle of Chrystler's Farm, from the ground
on which it occurred) is, in the estimation of military men,
considered the handsomest aiFair during the war, from the pro-
fessional .skill displayed in the course of the action by the
adverse commanders ; and when we consider the prodigious
preparations of the American Government for that expedition,
with the failure of which their hopes of conquest banished,
the battle of Chrystler's Farm may be classed as an event of
the first importance in the defence of the Canadas.
The American division, after leaving the field, re-embarked
in haste, while the dragoons, with five field-pieces of li^ht
artillery, proceeded down towards Cornwall, in the rear of
General Brown's division, who, unaware of the battle of
Chrystler's Farm, had continued his march for that place.
The loss of the enemy, by their own statements, amounted to
three officers and ninety-nine men killed, and sixteen officers
and one hundred and twenty-one men wounded. The loss of
the British amounted to three officers (Captain Nairne of the
49th Regiment, and Lieuetenants Lorimier and Armstrong),
and twenty-one men killed, and one hundred and thirty-seven
wounded, and twelve missing.
General Wilkinson, who, during the action, lay confined to
his barge from a protracted illness, in his official despatch to
his Government, bears strong testimony to the loyalty of the
inhabitants on the Canada side of the St. Lawrence, and to the
bravery and discipline of the troops he had to contend with at
Chrystler's Farm.
The day after the engagement, the American flotilla pro-
ceeded down the Long Sault, and joined near Cornwall the
division which had moved towards that place, where General
Wilkinson confidently expected to hear of the arrival of General
Hampton on the opposite shore, to whom he had written on
the 6th, to that effect, not being then acquainted with his late
defeat. Here, to his unspeakable mortification and surprise,
he received a letter from General Hampton, informino- him that
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 421
the division under his command was falling back upon Lake
Champlain.*
This information, with the countless difficulties momentarily
crowding upon the American army, effectually blasted every
prospect of further success. So circumstanced, the American
commander immediately held a Council of War, in which it
was unanimously resolved, " That the attack upon Montreal
should be abandoned for the present season, and that the army
near Cornwall should immediately cross to the American shore,
in order to take up winter quarters," a resolution which was
carried into effect the following day, by their proceeding for
Salmon river, where their boats and batteaux were scuttled,
and extensive bai-racks for the whole army were erected with
extraordinary celerity, surrounded on all sides by abatis, so as
to render a surprise unpracticable.
Every appearance of danger having subsided, the ^commander
of the Canadian forces dismissed the sedentary militia, by a
General Order of the l7th of November, with acknowledg-
ments of the cheerful alacrity with which they had repaired to
their posts, and the loyalty and zeal they had manifested at
the prospect of encountering the enemy.
With these operations terminated the campaigns of 1813 in
Lower Canada: but new triumphs still awaited the British
* " General Wilkinson had, at an early stage of the expedition, transmitted
an order to General Hampton to join him at St. Regis ; but that officer
having learned the low state of General Wilkinson's supplies of provisions,
and considering the state of the roads, conceived it the most prudent method
to disobey the order, and not to place himself at too great a distance from
his own magazines ; he therefore availed himself of the nearest route
to Montreal, the unsuccessful result of which manoeuvre has just been
detailed.
" The American army was again ordered to cross the line and take up
their winter quarters in their own territory, after repeatedly suffering them-
selves to be defeated under the most mortifying and humilitating circum-
stances ; with the blame of which the commander-in-chief (General Wilkin-
son) charged General Hampton, in consequence of his disobedience of orders,
but with which the American Secretary of War more properly charged both.
However, it had the effect of checking the military zeal which appeared to
manifest itself in the American ranks at a distance from the tlieatre of
hostile operations, and completely to extinguish the ardour of the American
troops on the lines." (Thompson, Chap, xxvii. p. 215.)
422 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
arms in the Province of Upper Canada before the end of the
year.*
PAET XIII.
GENERAL DRUMMOND ARRIVES IN UPPER CANADA — COLONEL MURRAY SENT
TO ARREST THE PREDATORY JNCURSIONS OF THE BRUTAL GENERAL
MoCLURB UPON THE INHABITANTS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF FORT
GEORGE — McCLURE's BARBAROUS BURNING OF THE TOWN OF NEWARK
(NIAGARA), EXPOSING 400 WOMEN AND CHILDREN TO THE INTENSE
COLD OF THE IOTH OF DECEMBER — McCLURE's FLIGHT TO FORT
NIAGARA ON THE AMERICAN SIDE OF THE RIVER — COLONEL MURRAY,
BY SURPRISING FORT NIAGARA, TAKES THE WHOLE GARRISON PRIS-
ONERS, AND SEIZES LARGE QUANTITIES OF MILITARY STORES — GENERAL
RIALL RETALIATES IN THE SAME WAY, IN REGARD TO LEWISTON , BLACK
ROCK, AND BUFFALO — GENERAL DRUMMO>D ISSUES A PROCLAMATION
DEPRECATING SUCH SAVAGE POLICY AS INITIALED BY THE AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT.
Early in December, Major General De Rottenburgh was
relieved in the command of Upper Canada by Lieutenant-
General Drummond, who proceeded from Kingston to York,
and from thence to the head of the lake, where the army again
resumed an offensive position. The country along the St.
Lawrence, being freed from the incursions of the enemy.
Colonel Murray, of the 100th Regiment, was ordered to advance
from Burlington Heights towards Fort George, with a view at
that time to prevent predatory incursions of the enemy under
General McClure (then in possession of that fort) on the
defenceless inhabitants of the surrounding country. But
General McClure, having heard of the disasters which had
befallen the army destined for Montreal, and conscious that a
like fate might probably await him and his army, with that
dastardly cowardice peculiar to himself and a few of his com-
patriots and traitors who joined themselves to his train, and
against the very spirit of the law of nations and of civilized
warfare, immersed the flourishing town of Newark (Niagara)
in one continued sheet of flame, and ignobly fled with his
followers into his territory. The historian laments that it is
* The foregoing account of the transactions in Lower Canada is chiefly
extracted from Mr. Christie's History of the War of 1812, and mostly in his
words. What follows is mostly taken from Thompson's War of 1812.
CHAP. LVL] and their TIMES. 423
not in his power to record one magnanimous act of that recreant
General, to rescue his name from that gulf of infamy to which
his nefarious conduct has forever doomed it.*
But retaliation was only delayed a week. On the evening
of the 18th of December, preparations were made for taking
Fort Niagara from the enemy, for which service Colonel Mur-
ray, of the 100th Regiment, was selected to take the command ;
and long before daylight next morning this gallant officer, at
the head of the grenadier company of the Royal Scots, the
grenadier and light companies of the 41st Regiment, and a de-
tachment of his own corps, crossed the river about two miles
above the fort, upon which they immediately advanced. On
approaching the fortress, sentries, planted on the outer works,
were surprised and taken, the countersign obtained, and in a
few minutes the fort was carried at the point of the bayofiet.
The loss on the part of the British in this affair was only
* The barbarous act of General McClure in burning Niagara is ascribed
to directions from the American Secretary at War ; but the many nefarious
acts committed by McClure could hardly be owing to directions from
Wasliiugton. Mr. Christie says that McClure " having, pursuant to the
directions of the American Secretary at War, most inhumanly, on the lOtli
of December, set fire to the flourishing "vdllage of Newark, containing about
150 houses, which were reduced to ashes, leaving the wretched and forlorn
inhabitants, with upwards of 400 women and children, exposed to the
accumulated horrors of famine and the inclemency of a Canadian winter.
The British, under the command of Colonel Murray, scarcely amounting
to 500 men, including Indians and militia, immediately occupied Fort
George. The barbarous policy of the American Government in destroying
Newark, exasperated the army as well as the inhabitants on the frontier,
of whose impatience for retaliation General Drummond promptly availed
himself after the occupation of Fort George, by adopting the resolution of
carrying the American Fort Niagara by surprise." (Chap, vii., p. 156.)
I\Ir. Thompson remarks on the conduct of McClure and his soldiers, even
before the burning of the town of Newark : " The American army had no
sooner taken up a position in front of Fort George, than tlie foraging parties,
or rather marauders, commenced a systematic course of plunder upon the
defenceless inhabitants within the vicinity of their camp, most of whom, at
the time, consisted of women and children ; even amongst the general
officers acts of pillage were perpetrated, that, had such occurred with private
soldiers in the Britisli army, would have stamped a stigma on the character
of the British, in the eyes of America, for which no course of conduct which
they could ever after have pursued would have sufficiently atoned." (War
of 1812, Chap. xxix. pp. 227, 228.
424 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVI.
six killed and five wounded : that of the enemy amounted to
sixty-five killed and fourteen wounded (all with the bayonet),
and the whole garrison was made prisoners, consisting of nearly
350. There were in the fort, at the time of its capture, twenty-
seven pieces of ordnance of weighty calibre, 3,000 muskets
with apparatus, besides large magazines of camp equipage and
military clothing, which of course fell into the hands of the
victors.
On the same day on which Fort Niagara was captured, the
town of Lewiston, about eight miles above Fort Niagara, was
taken possession of by a British force under Major-General
Rial], without opposition ; in which place the public magazines
were well filled with provisions and other military stores.
Towards the latter end of the same month. General Riall
crossed the Niagara river at Black Rock, at the head of a force
consisting of about 600 men, detachments from the 8th or the
King's Regiment, 4]st, 89th, and 100th Regiments, with a few
Militia volunteers, exclusive of six or seven companies of the
Royal Scots, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon,
who were directed to land between the villages of Bufialo and
Black Rock, about two miles distant from each other, with a
view to divert the garrison of Black Rock, while the other
troops were landing in front of that port ; but in consequence
of the severity of the weather, a number of the boats were
stranded ; by which means the troops were unable to land in
time to effect the object for which they had been intended ;
however, the enemy was driven from both positions in a short
time.
The American loss in this affair was upwards of five hundred,
130 of whom were prisoners of war ; the loss of the British
was inconsiderable compared Math that of the enemy.
The state of exasperation to which the mind of every British
subject had been wrought by the conduct of McClure in burn-
ing the town of Newark, and exposing all to the inclemency of
a Canadian winter, both the helpless infant and infirm old age,
was such that nothing but a similar retaliation could assuao-e ;
the whole line of frontier, from Buffalo to Fort Niao-ara was
therefore burnt to ashes.
Ample vengeance having thus been taken for the wanton
conflagration and cruel outrages committed upon the defenceless
CHAP. LVI.] AND THEIR TIMES. 425
inhabitants of Newark and neighbourhood, Lieutenant-General
Drummond, on the 12th of January, 1814, issued a proclama-
tion, in which he strongly deprecated the savage mode of war-
fare to which the enemy, by a departure from the established
usages of war, had compelled him to resort. He traced with
faithful precision and correctness the conduct that had marked
the progress of the war on the part of the enemy, and con-
cluded by lamenting the necessity imposed upon him of re-
taliating upon the subjects of America the miseries in-
flicted upon the inhabitants of Newark, but at the same time
declared it not to be his intention further to pursue a system so
revolting to his own feelings, and so little congenial to the
British character, unless he should be compelled by the future
measures of the enemy.
420 THE LOYALISTS OF AMEKICA [CHAP. LVII.
CHAPTER LVII.
Movements and Campaigns of 1814 — The Third and Last Year
OF THE War.
PART I.
preparations for THE CAMPAIGN — REINFORCEMENTS FROM NEW BRUNS-
WICK— ROYAL APPROBATION OF CANADIAN LOYALTY AND COURAGE-
AMERICAN INVASION OF THE DISTRICT OF MONTREAL UNDER GENERAL
WILKINSON — THE LARGE FORCE OF AMERICANS DEFEATED AT LA COLLE
BY A SMALL FORCE OF CANADIANS — RETURN TO PLATTSBURG, WHERE
GENERAL WILKINSON, DISAPPOINTED AND MORTIFIED, RETIRES FROM
THE ARMY.
The total failure for two years of the expeditions which had
been fitted out at so much expense by the United States
Government for the invasion of Canada, had considerably sub-
dued that ardour for military renown which, at the commence-
ment of the war — from the defenceless state of Canada, and
the absorption of British strength in the European war — had
promised so rich a harvest of laurels and territory to the United
States. Nevertheless the most active exertions were made on
both sides during the winter for the ensuing campaign. Stores
of all descriptions were forwarded to Kingston from Quebec
and Montreal on sleighs, at prodigious expense. The inhabi-
tants of New Brunswick again evinced their loyalty and
patriotism. Lieutenant-Colonel Robinson, with a regiment,
marched through the woods from Fredericton to the St.
Lawrence, in the month of February. A reinforcement of 220
seamen for the lakes came by the same route. To expedite the
progi-ess of these reinforcements, the Legislature of New
CHAP. LVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 427
Brunswick voted £300, and the city of St. John gave a
similar sum to defray the expense of conveying the troops
and sailors on sleighs as far as the nature of the roads would
permit.
On the 20th of March, His Excellency Sir George Prevost
issuecl a General Order expressing the approbation of the
Prince Regent of the affair of Chateauguay, and his " peculiar
pleasure at finding that His Majesty's Canadian subjects had
at length the opportunity of refuting, by their own brilliant
exertions in defence of their country, the calumnious charges
of disaffection and disloyalty with which the enemy had
prefaced his first invasion of the province, to Lieutenant-
Colonel De Salaberry in particular, and to all the officers and
men under his command, the sense entertained by his Royal
Highness of their meritorious and distinguished services, was
made known.
The first movement of the Americans in the neighbourhood
of Lake Champlain which gave room to expect an American
invasion of the district of Montreal, was towards the con-
clusion of March, 1814, when Brigadier-General Macomb,
with a division of American forces from Plattsburg, crossed
Lake Champlain upon the ice, and entered St. Armand, where
he remained some days, while General Wilkinson prepared for
an attack upon the outposts of Odletown and the Le Colle
Mill, which had been converted into a block-house. On the
morning of the 13th of March (General Macomb having sud-
denly withdrawn his division from St. Armand's, and rejoined
the main body), the American forces, consisting of 5,000 men,
commanded by General Wilkinson in person, entered Odle-
town. The Americans repeated their attacks upon the coveted
Le Colle Mill frontier ; and the Canadian Fencibles, Frontier
Light Infantry, and the Voltigeurs, repeated their deeds of
bravery and heroism, and repelled the multitudinous invaders.
" The Americans," says Mr. Christie, " exhausted with cold and
fatigue, and finding it impossible to carry the place without
heavy artillery, which, from the state of the roads, could not
be brought forward, withdrew their forces in good order from
the contest, at five o'clock in the afternoon, without being
pursued in the retreat.
The British loss amounted to only ten men killed and four
428 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVII.
men missing, and two oflScers and forty-four men wounded.
The American loss, though considerable, could not be precisely-
ascertained.
Having failed in the attempt to carry the block-house (Le
Colle Mill), scarcely deserving the appellation of a military
post, the enemy fell back upon Champlain Town, from whence
they returned to Plattsburg.
General Wilkinson, after this abortive attempt to retrieve his
military fame, seems to have been removed from his command,
or to have sought voluntary retirement from a service in
which he had experienced nothing but disappointment and
reverses.
PART 11.
TAKING OF PRAIRIE DU CHIEN — DEFENCE OF MACKINAC — SUCCESS IN THE
MARITIME PROVINCES.
Before noticing the military campaign of Upper Canada, we
will complete the summary view of those which relate to the
Maritime Provinces and Lower Canada.
During the occurrences of the taking of the post of Prairie
du Chien, on the Mississippi, and the triumphant defence of
Michilimackinac, Lieutenant-General Sir John C. Sherbrook,
the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, was successful in re-
ducing a very populous and extensive portion of the enemy's
territories adjacent to the Provinces of New Brunswick. He
detached a small force from Halifax under Colonel Pilkington,
while the Pamilies, commanded by Sir Thomas Hardie, took
possession, on the 10th of July, of Mosd Island, in Passassama-
quoddy Bay ; the garrison at Fort Sullivan, consisting of six
officers and eighty men, under the command of Major Putman,
surrendering themselves prisoners of war.
On the 26th of August, Sir John C. Sherbrook, having em-
barked at Halifax the whole of his disposable forces on board
of ten transports, set sail, accompanied by a small squadron
under Rear- Admiral Griffith, for Castine, on the Penobscot river,
where he arrived on the 1st of September, and took possession
of the batteries at that place ; the enemy finding it impossible
to retain the post — having previously blown up the magazine,
and retreated with the field-pieces.
CHAP. LVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 429
The United States frigate Adavis had, some days previous to
the arrival of the British at Castine, run into the Penobscot
river, and for security had gone up as far as Hampden, where
her guns had been landed and a position taken, with a view of
protecting her. Captain Barrie, of the Dragon, with a suitable
naval force, and 000 picked men under the command of Colonel
John, of the Gth Regiment, were detached up the river for the
purpose of possessing or destroying the Adams. The enemy,
who at first offered a spirited resistance, after setting fire to the
frigate, fled in all directions, upon finding the British resolutely
advancing against their positions. Several pieces of ordnance
and three stands of colours fell into the hands of the British,
whose loss amounted to no more than one man killed, and one
officer and seven men wounded.
After the capture of Castine, Lieutenant-Colonel Pilkington
was despatched with a brigade of troops for Madrias, which was
taken possession of on the 11th of September by that officer —
the detachment in Fort O'Brien having, on the approach of the
British, precipitately retreated from the fort, leaving twenty-six
pieces of ordnance, with a quantity of small arms and ammuni-
tion.
Lieutenant-Colonel Pilkington was on the point of marching
into- the interior of the country when he received a communica-
tion from Lieutenant-Generai Brewer, commander of the district,
engaging that the militia forces within the County of Wash-
ington should not bear arms, or serve against his Britannic
Majesty during the war. This, with a similar oflfer made by
the civil officers and principal inhabitants of the county, brought
on a cessation of arms.
By these judicious measures a populous extent of territory,
stretching one hundred miles along the sea coast, including a
valuable tract of country partly separating New Brunswick
from Lower Canada, passed under the dominion of the British
arms, without effusion of blood or the least waste of treasure.
430 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVII.
PART III.
ENGLAND, FREE FROM THE EUROPEAN WAR, DETERMINES TO PUNISH THE
UNITED STATES FOR THEIR JUNCTION WITH NAPOLEON AND INVASION
OF CANADA — SWEEPS THE AMERICAN COASTS WITH HER FLEET, AND
SENDS REINFORCEMENTS OF 16,000 MEN TO CANADA — FAILURE OF SIR
GEORGE PREVOST's ATTACK ON PLATTSBURG HIS RECALL, AND SUM-
MONED TO BE TRIED BY COURT-MARTIAL — DIES BEFORE THE APPOINTED
DAY OP TRIAL — ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTER.
Hitherto, for more than two years, the colonies had been
thrown almost entirely upon their own prowess and resources,
with the assistance of a few British soldiers, for their own
defence against an invading enemy tifty times more populous
than themselves. Up to this time England had been struggling
against Napoleon for the liberties of Europe ; but now the
Corsican tiger was chained up in Elba ; peace once more reigned
in Europe, and England was now free to throM^ the whole
weight of her victorious armies and unconquerable navy against
the United States, whose treasury was bankrupt, whose people
were disheartened at the reverses inflicted on their armies bv
handfuls of British and Canadians opposed to them, and whose
loudest cry now was for peace; but the United States had
refused peace when she could have had it, and Grreat Britain
was now determined to punish her for her attacks on a peace-
ful colony, when the mother country was so thoroughly engaged
elsewhere as to be almost forced to leave it to its own resources.
Of the vigorous blockade of the American seaports, of the
capture of Washington and burning of the capitol, etc., it is
not necessary to speak in this place ; we have only to do at
present with the operations which took place in Canada during
the summer of 1814.
During the summer about 16,000 British troops arrived at
Quebec ; but Only 4,000 were sent to Upper Canada, under the
command of General Kempt; and the Governor-General,
Prevost, concentrated nearly the whole of the remainder of the
reinforcements in the Richelieu district, with a view to a
descent on the State of New York by way of Lake Champlain,
at Plattsburg. In order to do this, the co-operation of the
flotilla on the lake was considered necessary, and orders were
given to put it in an eflScient condition ; but the flotilla was
CHAP. LVII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 431
defeated and its vessels taken by the enemy ; and the land
forces, though they could have easily taken Plattsburg, did
nothing, and were ordered to retreat within the British lines.
The conduct of Sir George Prevost in this affair — undertaken
for his own ambition, and without any public necessity — lost
him all his military prestige ; both officers and men felt the
disgrace of retreatins: before an inferior force of militia ; the
valiant Colonel Murray and other officers protested against the
retreat, and some of them indignantly broke their swords,
declaring that they would never serve under him again. He
was recalled to England, and under charges by Commodore Sir
James Yeo, was arraigned before a court-martial, but died a
week before the day appointed for his trial. Though Sir
George Prevost was unsuccessful as a military commander —
having disgracefully failed in the only two expeditions which
he planned and personally superintended — the one against
Sackett's Harbour and the other against Plattsburg — he was
an excellent civil governor for Lower Canada, and an amiable
and upright man.
It is alleged, however, that the Duke of Wellington and
other high authorities approved of his conduct, and the Prince
Regent showed marks of kindness to his family after his death.
His health, which vfas never strong, suffered much, not onlj
from mortification and mental anxiety in regard to his approach-
ing trial (which he demanded at the earliest possible period),
but by a winter's journey across the open country between the
St. Lawrence and St. John, on his way home, that he died on
the 5th of January, 181 G, just one week before the court-
martial appointed to examine into his conduct was to have
been convened.
Mr. Christie, who was an English member of the Legislative
Assembly of Lower Canada, and the author of an elaborate
History of CanMa, in six volumes, beside his excellent " History
of the War of 1812," gives the following estimate of the
character and AdiAinistration of Sir George Prevost :
^ " A warm and unswerving friend of the Canadian population,
of French origin, lie confided in and liberally patronized them
from the commencement to the close of his administration ; and
they, it must be acknowledged, as generously responded to his
confidence in them. No country or people ever exhibited
432 THE LOYALISTS OF AJVIERICA [CHAP. LVII.
greater unanimit}" or patriotism than did the people of Lower
Canada of both origins, in the war of 1812 by the United
States against Great Britain — a stand the more to be remem-
bered by her Government, as these colonies, almost destitute
of troops, wholly so of money, and scarcely possessing even
a sufficiency of arms and other munitions of defence, owing to
the more imperious calls from other quarters upon the Home
Government, were, at the outset of the war, in a manner left
to their own action and resources, and which they nobly
exemplified, single-handed, as it were, throughout the first two
campaigns. The principles of loyalty and duty, no doubt, were
deeply implanted in the bosom of the people ; but he it was
who exalted them into enthusiasm and inspired the mass with
a confidence in their own exertions and a reliance upon his
wisdom, fitting them for the emergency, and that bore them
successfully through the contest. Whatever may be the
opinion now established of his talents, by the military world,
the impression which the inhabitants of French origin in
Lower Canada universally retain of him, is that of a concili-
atory, wise, and able civil governor, and in all the relations
of private life, an amiable and estimable man."*
PART IV.
UPPER CANADA — PREPAKATIONS FOR THE CAMPAIGN — THE BRITISH FLEET
INFERIOR ON LAKE ONTARIO — SUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION AGAINST Ub-
WEGO — DESTRUCTION OF FORTIFICATIONS AND SEIZURE OF MUNITIONS OF
WAR — BLOCKADES SACKETT'S HARBOUR— UNSUCCESSFUL ASCENT OF SANDY
CREEK.
In Upper Canada the occurrences during the winter of 1814
were principally confined to incursions reciprocally practised by
troops in advance along the frontiers with various successes,
but with no important results on either side. After the winter's
preparations, the campaign was opened in Upper Canada by
Sir Gordon Drummond and Sir James L. Yeo, under most
cheering circumstances. The American forces along the Lake
Champlain, after leaving small garrisons at Plattsburg, Burling-
ton, and Vergennes, moved early in the spring towards Lake
* History of the War of 1812.
CHAP. LVLl.] AND THEIR TIMES. 433
Ontario and the Niagara frontier, with a view of assuming
offensive operations against Upper Canada, as soon as the
fleet in Sackett's Harbour (considerably augmented during the
winter) should be in a state to co-operate with the land forces.
The principal naval stores for the equipment of the fleet were
forwarded to Sackett's Harbour by the way of Oswego ; and
as the British naval force at Kingston, strengthened by two
additional ships, the Prince Regent and the Princess Charlotte,
were ready to appear on the lake early in the season, it became
an object of importance to intercept the enemy's supplies, and
by that means retard his preparations for invasion. An expe-
dition against Oswego was therefore determined upon, and
General Drummond having embarked a considerable force, con-
sisting of six companies of De Watteville's Regiment, the Light
Company of Glengarries, the 2nd Battalion of Royal Marines,
with a detachment of Royal Artillery, and two field-pieces, a
detachment of the Rocket Company, with a few Sappers and
Miners, set sail from Kingston the 4th of May, and at noon on
the following day made the port of Oswego, when a heavy gale
from the north-west sprung up and obliged the squadron to
gain the ofiing. On the morning of the 6th, a landing was
efiected by about 140 of the troops, under Lieutenant-Colonel
Fisher, and 200 seamen, armed with pikes, under the command
of Captain Mulcaster, R.N., in front of a heavy discharge of
round and grape from the battery, and of musketry from a
detachment of about 300 men of the American army, posted
on the brow of the hill, and in the skirts of the neighbouring
wood. The British, on landing, pressed up the hill towards
the enemy's battery, which the Americans (upon finding the
British determined to carry it by storm) relinquished, leaving
about sixty men, principally wounded.
The land and naval commanders having taken possession of
the stores found in the fort and its neighbourhood, and having
dismantled" the fortifications and destroyed the barracks, re-
embarked on the 7th of May, and returned to Kingston.
The loss of the British troops amounted to one captain
(Holtaway, of the Marines) and eighteen men killed, and two
oflicers and sixty men wounded. That of the navy amounted
to three men killed, and four officers and seven men wounded.
Captain Mulcaster, while entering the fort at the head of his
VOL. II. — 28
434 THE LOYALISTS OF AMEFJCA [CHAP. LVIL
men, received a very severe and dangerous wound. Captain
Popham was also severely wounded.
Although the service derived much benefit from this expedi-
tion, the main object contemplated was not accomplished, the
principal part of the naval stores being saved by the enemy,
who had taken the precaution of depositing them at the Falls,
some miles from Oswego, up the river.
The British squadron having, for the present, a decided
ascendency on Lake Ontario, blockaded Sackett's Harbour, in
order to intercept the supplies which might, from time to time,
be forwarded from Oswego for the equipment of the American
fleet. On the 29th of May, they captured a boat laden with
two twenty-four-pounders, and a large cable for one of the
American ships of war, and, with two gun-boats and five
barges, pursued fifteen other boats, loaded with naval and
military stores, and which took shelter in Sandy Creek ; but
they were met in the Creek by an American force, consisting
of 150 riflemen, nearly 200 Indians, and a strong body of militia
and cavalry, which overpowered the British party, of whom
eighteen were killed and fifty wounded — the rest being taken
prisoners. Captain Popham, in his official dispatch to Sir James
L. Yeo, on this affair, acknowledged with warmest gratitude
the humane exertions of the American officers of the Rifle
Corps, commanded by Major Appling, in saving the lives of
many of the officers and men, whom the American soldiers and
Indians were devoting to slaughter.
CHAP. LVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 435
CHAPTER LVIII.
Last Invasions and Last Battles of the War.
PART L
general brown 'takes fort ERIE — DEFEATS GENERAL RIALL ON THE
PLAINS OF CHIPPEWA — ADVANCES TO FORT GEORGE — HIS OFFICERS
AND ARMY PLUNDER THE INHABITANTS — RETREATS BACK TO CHIP-
PEWA— BURNS THE VILLAGE OF ST. DAVID'S ON THE WAT.
On the Niagara frontier, the American army commanded hy
General Brown, and consisting of about 7,000 men, began early
in the summer to concentrate at Buffalo, Black Rock, and other
points, and on the 3rd of July invaded Canada in two brigades,
under the command of Brigadier-Generals Scott and Ripley.
They embarked in boats and batteaux, and effected a landing
on the Canada side of the river without opposition — one
brigade landing about a mile above, and the other brigade a
mile below Fort Erie. The fort was under the command of
Major Buck, of the 8th Regiment, with about seventy men of
his regiment ; it had been put in a state of defence by that
officer, with a view of causing a temporary check to an invading
force, rather than for the purpose of defending it against a
regular siege. But Major Buck was so careful of himself and
his men as to abandon the fort without firing a shot — an error
fatal to the British — for although Fort Erie could not have
been held for any length of time against the overwhelming
strength of the enemy, still a few hours' defence would have
enabled General Riall to concentrate his forces and attack the
Americans before they were firmly established on Canadian soil.
The able dispositions which General Riall had made of the
436 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LYIIL
forces under his command along the Niagara line by the direc-
tion of General Drummond, who had anticipated an invasion
at that point where it commenced, were such, that the least
impediment to the progress of the invaders would have enabled
General Riall to have concentrated his troops, and to have fallen
upon and dispersed the enemy before they could have time to
be prepared for an effectual resistance. As it was, the Ameri-
cans were permitted to occupy this important post without
resistance, and transfer, unmolested, to the Canadian side all
the troops they pleased.
On the following day. General Brown advanced with his
whole force, of over 4,000 men, down the river to the plains of
Chippewa, with the intention of taking possession of the British
post at the mouth of the Chippewa or Welland river. General ,
Riall, having collected what forces he could, consisting of five
companies of the Royal Scots, a part of the 8th or King's
Regiment, a part of the 100th Regiment, and the 2nd Lincoln
Militia, amounting in all to about 1,500 men, determined to
check him, until further assistance should arrive. A series of
manoeuvres ensued on both sides, and the most furious battle
hitherto occurring during the war, followed, when General
Riall, finding himself no longer able to sustain the tight against
a force so unequal in universal strength, gave orders to abandon
the field — his troops retiring in the rear of the works at Chip-
pewa and destroying the bridge across the river, which they had
previously repaired.
The loss on both sides is said to have been nearly equal —
amounting to between 400 and 500 on each side.
"The 2nd Lincoln Militia, under Major David Secord, dis-
tinguished themselves in this action by feats of genuine bravery
and heroism, animated by the example of their gallant leader,
which are seldom surpassed even by the most experienced
veterans. Their loss was proportionate with that of the
regular army.
" Three or four days subsequent to this sanguinary battle on
the plains of Chippewa were mostly employed in burying their
own dead, and in burning those of the British, after which
several ineffectual efforts were made by General Brown to cross
the Chippewa river, contemplating an advance on Fort Georo-e ;
but at each of his attempts he was promptly met by picket
CHAP. LVIIi.] AND THEIR TIMES. 437
guards of the British, posted along the margin of the river
for that purpose.
General Riall, however, in a few days gave orders that the
remnant of his army should retire under the shelter of Fort
George and Mississagua until reinforcements could be collected
to place him on more equal ground with the enemy ; after
which General Brown moved his army towards those posts
within a mile and a half of the British — his army forming a
crescent ; his right resting on Niagara river, his left on Lake
Ontario.
The American army had no sooner taken up a position in
front of Fort George than their foraging parties, or rather
marauders, commenced a systematic course of plunder upon
the defenceless inhabitants within the vicinity of their camp,
most of whom, at the time, consisted of women and children.
Even amongst general officers were acts of pillage perpetrated,
that, had such occurred with private soldiers in the British
army, would have stamped on the character of the British, in
the eyes of America, for which no course of conduct which
they could ever after have pursued, would have sufficiently
atoned.
During the interval in which General Riall was receiving
reinforcements from York and other military posts on that side
of Lake Ontario, General Brown also received a strong rein-
forcement under General Izard, after which he made a few
ineffectual assaults on Fort George ; but, finding all his efforts
to carry that fort fruitless, and the British army receiving fresh
acquisitions of strength, all seemed to conspire to render the
case of General Brown hopeless ; who, now perceiving the
situation in which he was placed — the forts in his front to him
completely impregnable, and an army in his rear in full flow of
spirits, and every day gathering new strength (though by no
means equal to his as regarded numbers), a Canadian Militia,
and unexpectedly to him, fervent beyond a parallel in the
cause of their King and country — began now to think of a
safe retreat, in pursuance of which, on the morning of the 25th
of July, he commenced his retrograde movement ; he retreated
towards Chippewa, after burning the village of St. David's.
Riall pushed on in pusuit, when the Americans halted at Lundy's
Lane (called Bridge water by the Americans), where took place
438 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVIII.
the most stubborn fight o£ the war — known as the Battle of
Lundy's Lane — which may be regarded as terminating the
American invasions of Canada, and the last field battle of the
war.
We will here give a brief account of this celebrated battle,
from Thompson's History of the War of 1812, and the events
which followed at Fort Erie, and afterwards we will review the
transactions of this battle, together with the true principles of
loyalty, the causes and character of the war, and the reciprocal
relations between Great Britain, Canada and the United States.
PART II.
BATTLE OF LUNDY's LANE — PRELIMINARIES.
" The British army, at the time General Brown commenced
his retreat from Fort George and Queenston to Chippewa, was
scattered in small cantonments over twenty or thirty miles of
country ; but like a well-ordered and systematic machine, every
part was in a moment simultaneously in motion, to concentrate
their united strength at a point where they would be likely to
intercept the enemy.
" Detachments of the Royal Scots and 41st Regiments, and
a small body of Indians, amounting in all to about 500 men,
under the command of Colonel Tucker (supported on the river
by a party of seamen and marines under the direction of
Captain Dobbs, of the Royal Navy), passed over to the
American side of the River Niagara, with a view to disperse or
capture a body of the enemy stationed at Lewiston. The
object of this movement being accomplished, the troops were
again withdrawn at Queenston. The 41st and 100th Regi-
ments, under Colonel Tucker, were sent back to garrison Fort
George, Mississagua, and Niagara ; General Drummond moving
on towards the falls, with a force of about 800 strong, consist-
ing of detachments of the Royal Scots, 89th, and King's, with
the light company of the 41st Regiment, to join General Riall's
division of the army as soon as it could arrive from the several
bivouacs at which it had been stationed.
"As soon as the column of the British army under the com-
mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Morrison had arrived at the rising
CHAP. LVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 439
ground near the end of Lundy's Lane, on the main road leading
from Queenston to Chippewa, the enemy was just taking
possession of that position. Without a moment's delay, the
troops which had arrived on the ground were formed in line
on the north-east side of the height, their left restingf on the
Queenston road.
" The troops from the Twelve and Twenty Mile Creeks, to-
gether with a detachment of the King's Regiment, as they
arrived, were formed on each side of Lundy's Lane. This line
was supported in front by two twenty-four-pounders [field-
guns], which were covered by a small squadron of the 19th
Light Dragoons and a detachment of the infantry.
" The battle itself. — The troops of the line being thus disposed,
notwithstanding the superior strength of the enemy, in about ten
minutes dislodged him from the position he had first taken,
at the point of the bayonet.
" The sun was now fast descending towards the western
horizon ; and detachments of the 1st and 2nd Lincoln Militia
continued to arrive from the different outposts they had been
occupying, who joined in maintaining the summit of the hill
until the whole of General Riall's division should come up.
" General Drummond, after dislodging the enemy from the
partial possession he had gained on the hill, again formed his
line with as much despatch as existing circumstances would
admit, placing his artillery, which consisted of two twenty-
pounders, two six-pounders [brass field-pieces], and a rocket
party, in front of the centre of his position, near the right side of
Lundy's Lane, leading down the hill to the Queenston road, sup-
ported by the 2nd battalion of the 89th Regiment, under Colonel
Morrison. Scarcely had this arrangement been completed before
the position was furiously assailed by General Winfield Scott's
brigade at the point of the bayonet ; but the enemy was
repulsed with great slaughter. A tremendous fire was then
commenced on the crest of the British position, by the first
brigade of the enemy, stationed near the copse between Lundy's
Lane and the Falls of Niagara, and the 9th and 22nd Regi-
ments and Captain Lawson's brigade of artillery, stationed on
the Queenston road.
" During this stage of the engagement, the Light Company of
Royal Scots arrived on the ground from the Twenty Mile
440 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVIII.
Creek ; and a courier was despatched to countermand the route
of the 103rd Regiment, and the detachment of the King's and
104th Regiments, who had, in a mistake, taken the road to
Queenston from the Beach Woods, and to hasten their move-
ment to the field of action.
" On the brow of the hill, at the east end of Lundy's Lane,
for the possession of which the armies hitherto had principally
contended. General Drummond had now planted his artillery,
as it appeared to form the key to the position. On this quai'ter,
therefore, the enemy for a length of time directed his whole
efforts ; and notwithstanding the carnage was truly appalling,
no visible impression had yet been made. Still on this part of
the field did the whirlwind of the conflict rage with awful and
destructive fury ; columns of the enemy, not unlike the un-
dulating surge of the adjacent cataract, rushed to the charge in
close and impetuous succession.
" In this fearful and tremendous stage of the contest, the
British forces, both regulars and militia, finding themselves
pressed by an overwhelming force, simultaneously closed round
the guns, apparently determined to contest their possession with
the last drop of British blood on the ground, fully assured of
their importance to a favourable termination of the engagement
— in short both armies appeared to be roused to a state of des-
peration for victory.
" The enemy at length succeeded to make a slight turn on
the left of the British position ; at which period, General Riall,
who commanded that division of the army, was severely
wounded in the arm, and having passed to the rear for the pur-
pose of having his wound dressed, on his return to resume the
command, was intercepted by a column of the enemy and made
prisoner of war.
" It was long before this crisis of the engagement that the
curtain of night had enveloped the scene ; but instead of this
circumstance abating the fury of war, which had now com-
pletely drenched the field with the blood of the combatants,
the rage of battle appeared only to increase as the night ad-
vanced. Still did the enemy continue to direct his strongest
force against the crest of the British position ; but his repeated
charges were as often received and repelled by the reo-ular,
f encible, and militia forces engaged, with that intrepid gallantry
CHAP. LVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 441
for which the British army was ever characterized. Charges
were made in such rapid succession and with such determined
vigour that often were the British artillerymen assailed in the
very act of springing and charging their guns ; and often were
the muzzles of the guns of the contending armies hauled up and
levelled within a few yards of each other. The havoc of lives
on both sides, under such circumstances, may be better con-
ceived than described.
" The battle having raged with almost unprecedented fury
for upwards of three hours, both sides appeared for a time
mutually to suspend hostilities; during which the British
troops were supplied with fresh ammunition, and the enemy
employed himself actively in bringing up his reserve columns ;
after which, the fire was recommenced from the Queenston road,
on the left of the British column ; however, it was discovered
that this was only a diversion to mask the intention of a large
body of the enemy's fresh troops, which was actually moving
on the right of the British position, to outflank it. General
Drummond commenced immediately to draw his strength
towards this flank of the army, forming a line in a field of
grain, upon which the enemy were seen to advance in slow and
silent pace The British line formed to repel this new attack
was directed to kneel sufficiently low to prevent being per-
ceived by the enemy ; but scarcely had General Drummond
completed this order of arrangement, before the enemy's cqlumn
made its appearance and advanced within a few yards of the
British line, when the signal was made to fire a volley and
charge. The effect of that single fire upon the enemy's ranks
was awful in the extreme — those of the enemy who were
able made a precipitate retreat.
" ' The enemy's efforts to carry the hill,' says General Drum-
mond, in his official report, ' were continued until midnight,
when he had suffered so severely from the superior steadiness
and discipline of his Majesty's troops, that he gave up the con-
test and retreated with great precipitation to his camp beyond
the Chippewa, burning, as he passed the (Street) flour mills at
Bridgewater. On the following day he abandoned his camp,
threw the greatest part of his baggage, camp equipage, and
provisions into the rapids above the falls ; and destroying the
442 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVIII.
bridge at Chippewa, he continued his retreat in great disorder
towards Fort Erie. '
" ' The loss sustained by the enemy,' adds General Drum-
mond, ' in this severe action, cannot be estimated at less than
1,500 men, including several prisoners left in our hands.
Generals Brown and Scott were among the wounded. His
whole force, which was never rated at less than 5,000 men,
were all engaged.'
" In General Drummond's report of this action, the total
number of killed, wounded, and missing of the British army
was 878.
" By the regimental returns of the British army, including
those of the militia, both before and after this enofaCTement, the
whole British force consisted of 2,800 ; but before the arrival of
the troops under Colonel Scott, of the 103rd Regiment, it did
not exceed 1,600.
" Of all the battles (says a writer on this subject) fought in
America, the action of Lundy's Lane was unquestionably the
best sustained and by far the most sanguinary. The rapid
charges and real contest with the bayonet were themselves
sufficient to render this engagement conspicuous. Traits of real
bravery and heroic devotion were that night displayed by those
engaged, which would not suffer in comparison with those ex-
hibited at the storming of St. Sebastian, or the conflict of
Quatre Bras.
" Both the belligerent armies have offered their claims for
victory in this engagement. Upon what grounds the American
general could propose such a claim are best known to himself —
General Brown not only abandoned the plans of operations
which he had formed previous to the action at Lundy's Lane
[of advancing to Queenston, Fort George, and Burlington
Heights], but ' retreated in great disorder towards Fort Erie,'
where his egress from the territory might be more easy ; and in
his way destroyed the bridge at Chippewa, in order to retard
the advance of the British light troops in his rear."*
*■ Thompson's History of the War of 1812, Chap. xxx.
CHAP. LVIIl.] AND THEIR TIMES. 443
PART III.
AMERICAN ARMY RETREATS TO FORT ERIE, PURSUED BY GENERAL DRUM-
MOND, WHO INVESTS THE FORT — UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO STORM
IT — SORTIE OF THE WHOLE AMERICAN FORCE, TWICE THAT OF GENERAL
DRUMMOND, BUT DEFEATED — RAIN COMPELS THE RAISING OF THE SIEGE
— GENERAL BROWN EVACUATES THE FORT AND CROSSES THE RIVER TO
THE AMERICAN SIDE, AND THUS ENDS THE THREE YEARS* INVASIONS OF
CANADA, WITHOUT ACQUIRING AN INCH OF ITS TERRITORY.
On the American army reaching Fort Erie, they entrenched
and strengthened t]ie fortifications of the fort. Thither General
Drummond pursued, and immediately invested the fort,
although his army was not half the strength of the American
army. General Drummond having reconnoitred the enemy's
po.sition, determined to storm his entrenchments. On the 13th
of August, General Drummond, having completed his batteries,
commenced a brisk cannonade on the position of the enemy,
which, with few interruptions, was continued for two days
with great effect ; after which he was determined to carry the
fort and outworks by nocturnal assault. In pursuance of this
purpose, he formed his troops into three divisions : the first,
under Lieutenant-Colonel Fischer, of De Watteville's, consisting
of the King's Regiment, the regiment of De Watteville, and
flank companies of the 89th and 100th Regiments, directed
against the enemy's entrenchments at and near Snake Hill ;
the second, under Lieutenant-Colonel Drummond, of the 104th
Regiment, consisting of the 41st and 104th Regiments, and a
body of seamen and marines under the direction of Captain
Dobbs, of the Royal Navy, against the fort ; and the third,
under Colonel Scott, consisting of his own regiment, supported
by two companies of the Royals, against the entrenchments
adjoining the fort.
About two o'clock on the morning of the 15th, the several
divisions of the British army moved towards the enemy's
entrenchments ; but as soon as the column against Snake Hill
had emerged from the woods, it came in contact with an abatis
within twelve or fifteen yards of the enemy's entrenchments,
defended by a heavy column of infantry, under the command
of Major Wood, and the artillery under Captain Towson. This
for a time completely checked his advance.
444 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVIII.
However, it was soon announced by a tremendous fire from
the guns in the fort, and from the columns of infantry defend-
ino- the entrenchments near the shore of the lake, that the other
two columns, under Lieutenant-Colonels Scott and Drummond,
had commenced an assault upon the enemy's works.
At the first outset of the two last columns, the enemy
succeeded in turning the column on the left, under Colonel
Scott ; but that under Colonel Drummond penetrated the
enemy's works and charged through his ranks with such irresisti-
ble impetuosity that nothing seemed sufficiently impregnable
to arrest its*progress. Lieutenant-Colonel Scott in the mean-
time rallied his column, which had been partially turned on
one flank, and the fort was assailed in almost every quarter by
the besiegers ; an escalade was effected, the enemy driven from
the ramparts at the point of the bayonet, and the guns of the
fort turned upon the garrison ; all of which preludes to victory
had actually been gained a few minutes after the first alarm.
The battle raged with a fury seldom equalled. The British
troops, in pursuance of an order to that effect, having previously
divested their muskets of the flints, every foot of ground was
contested at the point of the bayonet, which rendered the
carnage more dreadful and appalling.
Lieutenant-Colonel Drummond (brother of General Drum-
mond), during the conflict within the fort, performed extra-
ordinary acts of valour. In the hottest of the battle he
presented himself, encouraging his men, both by example and
precept. But at the very moment when victory was declaring
in favour of the British arms, some ammunition which had
been placed under the platform ignited, and a dreadful ex-
plosion was the result, by which the greater part of the British
forces, which had entered the fort, were literally blown into
the air.* All exertions of the few British troops who sur-
* As in the storming of the fort at York, the explosion which took place
was and is a matter of dispute, and as to whether the explosion was acci-
dental, or caused by the British ; so it is a matter of unsettled dispute as to
whether the explosion of Fort Erie was caused by the Americans, or was
accidental. General Pike was killed in the explosion which took place in
the fort at York, and Colonels Drummond and Scott were killed at the
explosion of Fort Erie : many of the British and Canadians were killed in
the explosion in the fort at York, but none of the Americans were killed at
the explosion in Fort Erie.
CHAP. LVIII.J AND THEIR TIMES. 445
vived the explosion were found ineffectual to maintain their
ground, in the panic of the moment, against such an unequal
force as the enemy was enabled to bring up against them, and
the British forces were compelled to retire.
In this assault the loss of the British was severe. Colonels
Scott and Drummond fell, while storming the works, at the
head of their respective columns. General Drummond reported
the killed, wounded, and missing, officers and men, as 904. The
missing were reported at nine officers and 530 men — afterwards
ascertained to have been principally killed. The American
statement of their own loss made it 84 in killed, wounded, and
missing.
A day or two after this assault. General Drummond was
reinforced by the arrival of the 6th and 82nd Regiments from
Lower Canada ; but this reinforcement was barely sufficient to
supply recent losses. He deemed it unadvisable to attempt a
second storming of the fort against a force twice as numerous
as his own ; but by continuing the investment, he cut oft' all
communication of the enemy with the surrounding country,
cooped him up in the fort, compelled him to draw his pro-
visions and other resources from his own country, and thus
rendered his occupation of that fort for the remainder of the
campaign of no service to the invaders.
At about the expiration of a month, General Brown, having
recovered of his wounds, again resumed command of the army
on the Niagara frontier, and brought with hira a strong rein-
forcement, resolving to attempt the destruction of the British
batteries in front of Fort Erie. Pursuant to this determina-
tion, General Brown, on the 17th of September, at about noon,
ordered a sortie of the whole American force, including both
regulars and militia, in three divisions, under Generals Porter,
Miller, and Ripley ; and before the ready and reserved columns
of the British could be brought from the camp (about a mile
in the rear), the enemy had succeeded in penetrating the
batteries, destroying the works with one magazine of ammu-
nition, and spiking the guns. But ere he could effect his
retreat, the ready and reserve columns arrived, and imme-
diately commenced a determined attack upon his columns, and
after about half an hour's desperate fighting, notwithstanding
his great superiority of numbers, he retired before the bayonets
446 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [cHAP. LVIII.
of the British line, in great precipitation, under the cover of
his works, after losing nearly 600 of his force.
The incessant rains which had fallen that season rendered it
impossible for General Drummond to repair his batteries, or,
indeed, to keep the field, on account of the exposure and
increased sickness of the troops ; he therefore, on the 21st of
September, raised the siege and retired into winter quarters, in
rear of his works at the mouth of the Chippewa.
General Brown affected some inclination to follow on the
rear of the British army ; yet, notwithstanding all the efibrts
which could possibly be exercised by a general were called
into contribution by General Drummond to bring General
Brown into action, it all proved unavailing. The American
general, " as soon as the coast was clear," having blown up the
works, evacuated Fort Erie, and retreated across the river into
his own country.
Thus terminated the campaign of 1814 on the Niagara
frontier ; and whatever might have been the object of the
American Government when they sent that last army to invade
Canada, it is certain that nothing was acquired, if we except a
fresh proof (if such had been now necessary) of the loyalty of
the Canadian people to their Sovereign, and their unshaken
zeal to defend their country from the grip of its enemy, at
whatever time he might think proper to invade it.*
PART IV.
REVIEW.
The author cannot better present a summary review of the
true principles of loyalty, the origin, causes, characteristics, and
results of the war of 1812-15, together with the conduct of
the inhabitants of Canada in respect to it, than in the words
of an address which he delivered to the York Pioneers at
Queenston, in July, 1875, on the occasion of the anniversary
celebration of the battle of Lundy's Lane. The address (which
* The greater part of the foregoing accounts of the campaign of 1814 are
extracted and condensed from Thompson's and Christie's Histories of the
War of 1812, compared with other histories of the same events.
CHAP. LVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 447
was entirely extemporaneous in the delivery) is here repro-
duced, as reported in the newspapers at the time :
" CAUSES OF THE WAR DECLARED BY THE UNITED STATES AGAINST GREAT
BRITAIN, JUNE 18, 1812 — CANADIAN DEFENCE — BATTLE OF LUNDY'S
LANE, FOUGHT JULY 25, 1814.
" Address delivered by the Rev. Dr. Ryerson before the York
Pioneers and other Associations assembled on Queenston
Heights, near Brock's Monument, met at a pic-nic on Monday,
July 26th, 1875, to celebrate the battle of Lundy's Lane.
" The Chairman, Colonel R. Denison, called upon Dr. Ryerson,
who was warmly received.
" After a few preliminary observations, he said that he felt it
a great privilege to be called on to address a number of those
Canadians who had laid the foundation of our country, who
had given Canada a name that was honoured throughout the
world, and whose hearts beat responsive to those noble principles
that made England the glory of all nations, and British insti-
tutions the honour of mankind. (Loud applause.) He thought
the York Pioneers might well be called the Canadian Pioneers
— the pioneers of Canadian industry, enterprise, freedom, and
civilization. The object of the Society in giving an intelligent
intensity to those principles that constituted the loyalty of the
people of Canada, in preserving the traditions of the country,
and in uniting in one centre the various elements of scattered
light which were connected with the earliest rays of its open-
ing history, were works well worthy of the defenders of the
liberties of this country. The very foundation of the York
Pioneers was a spirit of loyalty. What Avas that loyalty itself ?
It was no other than an attachment to the institutions and laws
of the land in which we live, and to the history of the nation
to which we belong. It was not merely a sentiment of respect
of the country to an individual, or even to the Sovereign. If
it gathered round the person of the Sovereign, it was because that
Sovereign represented the institutions of the people, the over-
shadowing laws of the people, the real and essential freedom,
and the noblest development of the spirit of the people.
Loyalty in its true essence and meaning was the principle of
respect to our Sovereign, the freedom of our institutions, and the
448 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVUI.
excellencies of our civilization, and it was therefore a feeling
worthy to be perpetuated by the people. Shakespeare — that
great apostle of human nature — has said :
" ' Though loyalty, well held, to fools does make
Our faith mere folly ; yet he that can endure
To follow with allegiance a fallen lord.
Does conquer him that did his master conquer.'
Loyalty is, therefore, faithful to its own principles, whether the
personal object of it is in prosperity or adversity,
" ' Loyalty is still the same,
Whether it win or lose the game ;
True as the dial to the sun.
Though it be not shone upon.'
Hence, says Lord Clarendon, of a statesman of his time, ' He
had no veneration for the Court, but only such loyalty
to the King as the law required.' True loyalty is, there-
fore, fidelity to the Constitution, laws, and institutions of
tlie land, and, of course, to the sovereign power representing
them.
" Thus was it with our Loyalist forefathers. There was no
class of inhabitants of the old British- American Colonies more
decided and earnest than they in claiming the rights of British
subjects when invaded ; yet when, instead of maintaining the
rights of British subjects, it was proposed to renounce the
allegiance of British subjects and destroy the unity of the
empire, or ' the life of the nation ' (as our American neighbours
expressed it, in their recent civil war to maintain the unity of
their republic), then were our forefathers true to their loyalty,
and adhered to the unity of the empire at the sacrifice of
property and home, and often of life itself. Of them might
be said, what Milton says of Abdiel, amid the revolting hosts :
" ' Abdiel, faithful found ;
Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified,
His loyalty he kept.'
Our United Empire Loyalist forefathers 'kept their loyalty
unshaken, unseduced, unterrified,' during seven long years of
conflicts and sufferings ; and that loyalty, with a courage and
enterprise, and under privations and toils unsurpassed in
CHAP. LVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 449
human history, sought a refuge and a home in the wilderness
of Canada, felled the forests of our country, and laid the
foundation of its institutions, freedom, and prosperity. (Loud
applause.)
" Canadian loyalty is the perpetuation of that British national
life which has constituted the strength and glory of Great
Britain since the morning of the Protestant Reformation, and
placed her at the head of the freedom and civilization of man-
kind. This loyalty maintains the characteristic traditions of
the nation — the mysterious links of connection between grand-
father and grandson — traditions of strength and glory for a
people, and the violations of which are a source of w^eakness
and disorganization. Canadian loyalty, therefore, is not a mere
sentiment, or mere affection for the representative or person of
the Sovereign ; it is a reverence for, and attachment to, the
laws, order, institutions and freedom of the country. As Chris-
tianity is not a mere attachment to a bishop, or ecclesiastic,
or form of church polity, but a deep love of divine truth ;
so Canadian loyalty is a firm attachment to that British Con-
stitution and those British laws, adopted or enacted by our-
selves, which best secure life, liberty, and prosperity, and which
prompt us to Christian and patriotic deeds by linking us with
all that is grand and noble in the traditions of our national
history.
" In the war of 1812 to 1815 — one of the last and hardest-
fought battles was that of Lundy's Lane, which we meet this
day, on this historic ground, to celebrate — both the loyalty and
courage of the Canadian people were put to the severest test,
and both came out of the fiery ordeal as refined gold. Nothing
could be more disgraceful and unprincipled than the Madison
(I will not say ' American) declaration of war against Great
Britain, which was at that moment employing her utmost
strength and resources in defence of European nations and the
liberties of mankind. That scourge of modern Europe — the
heartless tyrant, but great soldier, Napoleon — had laid prostrate
at his feet all the Governments of Western and Central Europe,
England alone excepted. To destroy British power, he issued
decrees first at Berlin, in 1806, and afterwards at Milan, ex-
cluding all British merchandize from French ports, and pro-
hibitino- the use of British commodities throughout France and
VOL. II. — 29
450 THE LOYALISTS OF AMEEICA [CHAP. LVIIL
her dependencies, under severe penalties ; searching neutral
vessels for British goods, and confiscating them when found,
with the vessels carrying them ; interdicting alt neutral vessels
from trading with any British port ; declaring all the ports of
Great Britain and of her dependencies to be in a state of block-
ade, though at the very moment the English fleet commanded
the seas. These Napoleon decrees violated the laws of nations,
and affected the national rights and independence of the
United States, as well as of the European nations; and had
not President Madison and his war faction been in leajjue with
Napoleon, they would have resented it, instead of silently sub-
mitting, and thus becoming a party to it. In self-defence and
retaliation upon the tyrant Napoleon, Great Britain, in January,
1807, issued Decrees of Council, declaring all French ports in
a state of blockade, and declaring all vessels of neutrals liable
to seizure which should engage in trade with France ; and as
the Napoleon decrees had declared all vessels of any nation
liable to seizure which had touched at any British port, the
English Orders of Council, to counteract this decree, declared,
on the other hand, that only such ships as had touched at a
British port should be permitted to sail for a port of France.
The American President, Madison, being in league with the
French usurper against Great Britain, made no remonstrance
against the Napoleon decrees of Berlin and Milan, but raised
a great outcry against the counter English Orders in Council,
and made them a pretext for declaring war against Great
Britain. But President Madison not only thus leagued with
Napoleon to destroy British commerce, but also to weaken the
British army and navy by seducing some 10,000 British sailors
and soldiers to desert on board of American vessels, where they
were claimed as American citizen sailors.
" England had always claimed the right to search and claim
her deserting sailors on board foreign vessels, and that right
had never been disputed by the United States, until now, under
the teachings of Napoleon. But though there was no occasion
for the exercise of such a right in a time of general peace, the
exercise of it then was a matter vital to the existence and
strength of the British navy ; but, under the promptings of
Napoleon, President Madison made it not only a subject of loud
complaint, but also an additional pretext for war. Yet, to keep
CHAP. LVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 451
up some appearance of fairness, but in secret intrigue with
Napoleon, the Madison Administration issued a declaration to
open commercial relations with either of the belligerent powers
that should first rescind the prohibitory decrees or orders. In
May, 1812, Napoleon rescinded the Berlin and Milan decrees so
far as concerned the United States, but had the unparalleled
meanness to antedate them thirteen months, and even apply
them to 1810, dating them April, 1811, in order to play into
the hands of his American confederates. Within a month after
Napoleon had rescinded the Berlin and Milan decrees — June
2ord, 1812 — the British Government cancelled the Orders in
Council so far as related to the United States ; but five days
before that, the 18th of June, President Madison declared war
against Britain, and then when, six weeks afterwards, he was
duly informed of the cancelling of these Orders in Council, on
which he had professed to declare war, he refused to ratify an
armistice agreed upon between Sir George Prevost and General
Dearborn, until the British and American Governments could
confer with a view to prevent any further prosecution of the
war. Madison and his faction of British haters and war ad-
venturers naturally supposed, that as Upper Canada consisted
of 70,000 inhabitants, and as the British troops were all engaged
in the deadly war with France, except guards of regular soldiers
in the Canadian garrisons, our country would fall an easy prey
to his ambition ; Great Britain would be humbled at the feet
of Napoleon, and France and the United States would then
divide the power and commerce of Europe and America. But
British and Canadian loyalty, patriotism, and courage defeated
their dark designs against the liberties of mankind. Even the
patriotic and intellectual part of the American people denounced
this unholy intrigue between their own President and the
bloody ursurper of Europe, and this causeless war against Great
Britain. The Legislative Assemblies of Massachusetts, Connec-
try '
ticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Maryland condemned the
war policy of President Madison, and some of them declared it
to be but a party proceeding of the President and his minions
to keep themselves in power and subsidize their hungry parti-
zans. Only a small majority of Congress approved the declara-
tion of war. A convention of the great State of New York,
held at Albany, September, 1812, consisting of delegates from
452 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVIII.
the several counties of the State, embodied, in elaborate resolu-
tions, the intelligent American sentiment on the subject of the
war. That convention declared : ' That, without insisting on
the injustice of the present war, taking solely into consideration
the time and circumstances of its declaration, the condition of
the country, and the state of the public mind, we are con-
strained to consider and feel it our duty to pronounce it a most
rash, unwise and inexpedient measure, the adoption of which
ought forever to deprive its authors of the esteem and confidence
of an enlightened people ; because, as the injuries we have
received from France are at least equal in amount to those we
have sustained from England, and have been attended with
circumstances of still greater insult and aggravation; if war
were necessary to vindicate the honour of the country, con-
sistency and impartiality required that both nations should
have been included in the declaration ; because, if it were
deemed expedient to exercise our right of selecting our
adversary, prudence and common sense dictated the choice of
an enemy from whose hostility we had nothing to dread. A
war with France would equally have satisfied our insulted
honour, and, at the same time, instead of annihilating, would
have revived and extended our commerce ; and even the evils
of such a contest would have been mitigated by the sublime
consolation, that by our eflEbrts we were contributing to arrest
the progress of despotism in Europe, and effectually serving the
great interests of freedom and humanity throughout the world.'
' That we contemplate with abhorrence, even the probability of
an alliance with the present Emperor of France, every action
of whose life has demonstrated, that the attainment, by any
means, of universal empire, and the consequent extinction of
every vestige of freedom, are the sole objects of his incessant,
unbounded and remorseless ambition.' ' Whereas the late
revocation of the British Orders in Council has removed the
great and ostensible cause of the present war, and prepared the
way for an immediate accommodation of all existing differences,
inasmuch as, by the confession of the present Secretary of
State, satisfactory and honourable arrangements might easily
be made, by which the abuse resulting from the impressment
of our seamen might, in future, be efifectually prevented.'
" Such were the sentiments of the most intellio-ent and
CHAP. LVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 453
patriotic American citizens in regard to the war of 1812-15;
they had no more sympathy with the Madison-Napoleon war
than with the recent Fenian invasion of our shores. And when
the war was declared, our fathers knew their duty, and knew
the worthlessness of the pompous proclamations and promises
of President Madison's generals and ao^ents. The blood of our
United Empire Loyalist forefathers warmed again in their own
bosoms, and pulsated in the hearts of their sons and grandsons,
and in the hearts of hundreds of others who had adopted
Canada, under the flag of British law and liberty, as their
home. Our Legislative Assembly — specially called together
by General Brock, on the declaration of war — struck the key-
note for Canadian loyalty, sacrifice and action, in a calm,
expository and earnest address to the people of Upper Canada,
and truly represented the already roused spirit of the country.
Some of the words of that noble address are as follows :
" ' This war, on the part of the United States, includes an
alliance with the French usurpei', whose dreadful policy has
destroyed all that is great and grand, venerable and holy, on
the continent of Europe. The government of this bloody
tyrant penetrates into everything — it crushes individuals as
well as nations, fetters thoughts as well as motives, and delights
in destroying forever all that is fair and just in opinion and
sentiment. It is evidently this tjn-ant who now directs the
rulers of America, and they show themselves worthy disciples
of such a master.'
" After noting the juncture selected for declaring war, the
address proceeds : ' It is certainly not the least wonderful
among the occurrences of this astonishing age, that we should
find a nation descended from Englishmen, connected still by the
same language and laws, by consanguinity and many similar
habits, not merely eulogizing the implacable enemy of their
parent state, but joining him in the war ; while pretending to
nourish the purest principles of liberty, bowing the knee
before the foe of all just and rational freedom, and supplicat-
ing his acceptance of tribute and adulation.' After sketching
the origin and sustained loyalty of the first inhabitants of
the country, the Assembly said: 'Already have we the joy
to remark, that the spirit of loyalty has burst forth in all
its ancient splendour. The militia in all parts of the Pro-
454 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVIII.
vince have volunteered their services with acclamation, and
displayed a degree of energy worthy of the British name.
When men are called upon to defend everything they hold
precious, their wives and children, their friends and posses-
sions, they ought to be inspired with the noblest resolutions,
and they will not be easily frightened by menaces, or conquered
by force. And beholding, as we do, the flame of patriotism
burning from end to end of the Canadas, we cannot but enter-
tain the most pleasing anticipations. Our enemies have indeed
said, that they can subdue this country by a proclamation ; but
it is our part to prove that they are sadly mistaken.' ' If the
real foundations of true liberty, and consequently of solid
happiness, consist in being amenable only to such laws as we or
our representatives ordain, then are we in possession of that
liberty and that happiness, for this principle was fully recog-
nized in our excellent constitution.' ' It is not necessary for
us to examine the causes alleged by our enemies for this unjust
and unnatural war, because an address from the House of Re-
presentatives of Massachusetts, the most respectable in the
Union, proves in the most satisfactory manner, that it is wanton
and unprovoked, and is the climax of the various outrages pre-
viously committed against Great Britain. In this statement
they have been joined by the minority in Congress, whose ex-
positions of the secret reasons of the war, and the falsehood of
those alleged by the President and his friends, is unanswerable,
and must hand down the promoters of this diabolical measure
to the execration of posterity.' ' Your representatives finished
their labours with placing in the hands of His Honour the
President (Sir Isaac Brock), all the public money they could
collect, in order to contribute as much as possible to the extra-
ordinary expenses which the war renders necessary, and they
have the fullest confidence that it will be most faithfully
applied. Having thus endeavoured, to the best of their abili-
ties, to provide for the welfare and safety of the Province, your
representatives take the liberty of reminding you that the best
laws are useless withovit the zealous co-operation of the people.
Unless you are prepared to endure the greatest privations and
to make the severest sacrifices, all that your representatives
have done will be of no avail. Be ready, then, at all times to
rally round the Royal Standard, and let those who are not
CHAP. LVIII.] AND THEIR TIMES. 455
called into the service assist the families of those who are called
into the field.' ' Remember, when you go forth to the combat,
that you fight not for yourselves alone, but for the whole world.
You are defeating the most formidable conspiracy against the
civilization of man that ever was contrived ; a conspiracy
threatening a greater barbarism and misery than followed the
downfall of the Roman Em]3ire — that now you have an oppor-
tunity of proving your attachment to the parent State which
contends for the relief of the oppressed nations — the last pillar
of true liberty, and the last refuge of oppressed humanity.'
" Such were the views and spirit with which the 70,000 people
of Upper Canada, and their score of parliamentary represen-
tatives, engaged in the unequal struggle against myriads of
invaders — relying simply upon their principles, their duty, and
their God ; and, in three months after the declaration of war,
they had, with the aid of a few hundred regular soldiers and
noble oflacers, driven back three invading armies, capturing Hull
and the territory of Michigan, driving the invaders commanded
by General Van Rensellaer down Queenston Heights, taking
hundreds of prisoners, driving ' proclamation' General Smyth,
with his 8,000, from the Canadian side of the Niagara river,
near Fort Erie, so that he had to run away and retire from the
army to escape popular indignation and disgrace. It is not for
me to dwell upon the incidents and progress of the war ; raids
were made into our country, many battles were fought, and
much property destroyed and much suffering inflicted ; but
those raids were severely retaliated, and at the end of three
years not a foot of Canadian territory was in possession of the
invader, while the key of the North-west, Fort Mackinaw, was
in the hands of the British.
" Of all the battles fought during the war, the most san-
guinary and obstinate was that of Lundy's Lane — the battle,
the anniversary of which we are this day assembled to com-
memorate— the battle fought the last few months of the war,
the 25th of July, 1814. It was the most formidable and final
effort of the American General Brown to get permanent footing
in Canada. The smallest number of American soldiers engaged
in the battle, according to General Brown's report, was upwards
of 5,000 ; and the largest number of British soldiers and
Canadian militia engaged, according to the British General
456 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVIII.
Drammond's report, was 2,800, although the greater part of the
battle was fought with a force not exceeding 1,600. I shall not
attempt to describe the order, or narrate the incidents of the
battle ; I will only say, that the high ground, near the east
end of Lundy's Lane, was the centre of interest, and the
position contended for by both parties in deadly strife for
several hours. In no battle during the war did the Ameri-
cans fight with such heroism and obstinacy ; and in no battle
was the courage, steadiness and perseverance of the British
soldiers and Canadian volunteers put to so severe a test. The
enemy was drawn up in order of battle within 600 yards of
the coveted eminence, when General Drummond arrived on the
ground, and he had barely time to plant his artillery on the
brow of the hill, when the enemy concentrated all his power
and efforts to obtain the key of the battle-field. An eye-
witness says : ' Columns of the enemy, not unlike the surge of
the adjacent cataract, rushed to the charge in close and im-
petuous succession.' The curtain of night soon enveloped the
scene, now drenched with blood ; but the darkness seemed to
intensify the fury of the combatants, and the rage of the battle
increased as the night advanced. An eye-witness truly observes,
th^^t 'nothing could have been more awful than this midnight
contest. The desperate charges of the enemy were succeeded
by a dead silence, interrupted only by the groans of the dying,
and the dull sounds of the stupendous Falls of Niagara, while
the adverse lines were now and then dimly discerned through
the moonlight, by the dismal gleam of their arms. These
anxious pauses were succeeded by a blaze of musketry along
the lines, and by a repetition of the most desperate charges
from the enemy, which the British received with the most
unshaken firmness.' General Drummond, in his official report
of the battle, says ; — ' In so determined a manner were these
attacks directed against our guns, that our artillerymen were
bayoneted by the enemy in the act of loading, and the muzzles
of the enemy's guns were advanced within a few yards of ours.
The darkness of the night, during this extraordinary conflict,
occasioned several uncommon incidents ; our troops having, for
a moment, been pushed back, some of our guns remained for a
few minutes in the enemy's hands ; they were, however, not
.only quickly recovered, but the two pieces, a six-pounder and a
CHAP. LVIIL] and their TIMES. 457
five-and-a-half-inch howitzer, which the enemy had brought up,
were captured by us, together with several tumbrils. About
nine o'clock (the action having commenced at six) there was a
short intermission of firing, during which it appears the enemy
was employed in bringing up the whole of his remaining force ;
and he shortly afterwards renewed the attack with fresh troops,
but was everywhere repelled with equal gallantry and success.
The enemy's efforts to carry the hill were continued until
about midnight, when he had suffered so severely from the
superior steadiness and discipline of his Majesty's troops, that
he gave up the contest, and retreated with great precipitation
to his camp beyond the Chippewa. On the following day he
abandoned his camp, threw the greatest part of his baggage,
camp equipage and provisions into the Rapids ; and having set
fire to Street's Mills, and destroyed the bridge at Chippewa, he
continued his retreat in <rreat disorder towards Fort Erie.'
" In this bloody battle, the Canadian militia fought side by
side with the regular soldiers ; and General Drummond said,
'the bravery of the militia on this occasion could not have been
excelled by the most resolute veterans.'
" Such was the loyalty of our grandfathers and fathers, and
such their self-devotion and courage in the darkest hour of our
country's dangers and sufferings, and though few in number
in comparison of their invaders, they had
" ' Hearts resolved' and hands prepared
The blessings they enjoyed to guard.'
" There was doubtless as much true courage among the
descendants of Great Britain and Ireland in the United States
as in Canada ; but the former fought for the oppressor of
Europe, the latter fought for the freedom of Europe ; the
former fought to prostrate Great Britain in her death struggle
for the liberties of mankind, and to build up the United States
upon her ruin, the latter fought in the glorious cause of the
mother country, and to maintain our own unity with her ; the
former fought for the conquest of Canada, the latter fought in
her defence ; the fire that kindled the military ardour of the
former was the blown-up embers of old enmities against Great
Britain, the gross misrepresentations of President Madison, the
ambition of adventure, and the lust of booty — the fire that
458 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVllI.
burned in the hearts of the latter, and animated them to deeds
of death or freedom, was the sacred love of hearth and home,
the patriotic love of liberty, and that hallowed principle of
loyalty to truth, and law, and liberty combined, which have con-
stituted the life, and development, and traditions, and strength,
and unity, and glory of British institutions, and of the British
nation, from the resurrection morn of the Protestant Reforma-
tion to the present day. A great writer has truly observed :
' The most inviolable attachment to the laws of our country is
everywhere acknowledged a capital virtue ; ' and that virtue
has been nobly illustrated in the history of our United Empire
Loyalist forefathers, and of their descendants in Canada, and it
grows with the growth and increases with the strength of our
country.
" I have said that loyalty, like Christianity itself, is an
attachment to principles and duties emanating from them,
irrespective of rulers or teachers ; but if the qualities of our
chief rulers were necessary to give intensity to Canadian
loyalty, those qualities we have in the highest degree in our
Sovereign and in her representive in Canada ; for never was a
British Sovereign more worthy of our highest respect and
warmest affection than ovir glorious Queen Victoria — (loud
cheers) — and never was a British Sovereign more nobly repre-
sented in Canada than by the patriotic, the learned, and the
eloquent Lord DufFerin. (Loud cheers.) And at no period were
we more free or prosperous than now. The feelings of his
(the speaker's) heart went far beyond anything that his tongue
could express, and the language of his heart that day was,
might loyalty ever be the characteristic trait of the people of
Canada, might freedom ever be our possession, and might we
ever have cause and heart to say ' God save the Queen ! ' "
(Loud cheering.)
Note by the Author. — The Administration of President Madison, and his
Declaration of War against Great Britain, are dark spots in the brilliant
history of tlie United States of America, and the American narratives of the
war are rather fiction than history — compiled largely from letters of officers
and soldiers, who, in writing to their friends, sought to magnify their own
heroism, even when suffering disgraceful defeats, and sometimesi claiming
victory when they were driven from the field. The usual tales on these
occasions were that the Canadian forces were vastly superior in numbers
and equipments, when it was known that the American armies were ten to
CHAP. LVm.] AND THEIR TIMES. 459
one in numbers to those of Canada, and their invading forces were declared,
by themselves, to be irresistible in strength and equipments.
The American account of the battle of Lundy's Lane is an example, and
is repeated with exaggerations in the latest and most popular history of the
war, namely, Lossing's Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812, page 1084.
Lossing says :
" The number of troops engaged in the battle of Niagara Falls was little
over 7,000, the British having about 4,500, and the Americans a little less
than 2,600." (p. 824.)
The very reverse of this was the fact, as quoted in the foregoing extract
from the official report of General Drummond. Wlien the American invad-
ing army consisted of 10,000 men, it is absurd to suppose that all but 2,600
would remain on the American side of the river, and the American historian
states that every available soldier on the British side of the river was engaged
in the battle.
Lossing likewise claims the battle for the Americans " because they drove
the enemy from the field and captured his cannon" (p. 824). It is not true
that the British were driven from the field at all ; they were once pushed
back for a few minutes, and their cannon were for a few moments in the
hands of the Americans, who, however, were forthwith driven back, the
cannon retaken, with two pieces left by the Americans. And how could
there possibly be any American victory, when Lossing himself admits that
the American army' retired from the field during the night to Chippewa (p.
823), with the intention of returning next morning to bring off the cannon
and other booty. Is it the characteristic of a victorious army to leave the
conquered field and retire two miles from it 1 Lossing also admits that the
Americans did not return to the battle-field next morning, bi\t burnt the
bridge which separated the British army from them, and retreated up the
Niagara river. Is this the conduct of a conquering army, to flee from the
eneniy whom he pretends to have conquered ? Mr. Lossing's admissions of
details contradict the pretence of American victory at Lundy's Lane, and
prove American defeat.
It is by such fictions of victories where there were defeats, interspersed
with fictitious incidents of individual heroism, that American vanity is fed,
and American children taught in the schools what is purely apocryphal for
history in regard to Great Britain and Canada.
But it is gratifying . to observe a greatly improved feeling in the educated
American mind towards Great Britain, and even the causes of the American
Revolution, which were magnified in the American Declaration of Indepen-
dence, and which have been exaggerated in every possible way in American
histories and Fourth of July orations, are very much modified in the produc-
tions of well-instructed and candid American writers and pviblic speakers.
We observe on a late occasion in England, at the Wesleyan Conference,
Bishop Simpson, the Massillon of American pulpit orators, said, " The
triumph of America was England's triumph. Their object was the same,
and they were engaged in the same work. There were more Englishmen
who would go to America, than Americans who would come to England
460 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LVIIL
(laughter), and while they in England had the wealth, the power, and the
elements of usefulness, they were bound to use it in the interests of religion."
On the same occasion, the Rev. Dr. Curry, editor of the New York
Christian Advocate, the most widelj"- circulated religious paper in America,
uttered the following noble sentiments :
" He was proud," he said, " of England (as the Fatherland of his), and, as
he had now gone up and down through that island, and had witnessed its
signs of substantial wealth, and of social order, he felt that both the public
institutions of the Government and the private virtues of the people were
of the most valuable. He did not wonder that Englishmen were warmly
attached to their own country, and he would say that were he not an Ameri-
can he should wish to be an Englishman. He rejoiced, too, that there now
exists the most cordial good feeling between the two countries, and trusted
that this would never be interrupted. They had very many interests in
common, and should stand together in support of them."
On the last Fourth of July, the Rev. Dr. Newman, pastor of President
Grant, who has finished a tour of the world, having been appointed to
examine and report upon all the American Consulships of the globe,
delivered a remarkable discourse on the progress of the nation, and also of
the enlightened ideas and liberal institutions in Europe. In an allusion to
the American Revolution, Dr. Newman says :
" Our forefathers were not slaves ; they were English subjects — English
freemen, and we misrepresent them and the struggle through which they
fought, if we look upon them as bound with manacles. They had an
appreciation of what belonged to an English subject. And because the
mother country refused representation where she imposed taxation, there-
fore those forefathers arose in their English manhood, protested against the
abuse of governmental power, and asserted that where there is taxation, there
should be representation ; and had Patrick Henry been admitted into the
British Parliament to represent her American colonies, the United States of
America to-day would have been the grandest portion of the empire of
Great Britain."
In the same discourse the orator said :
" Behold England of to day, in her rule at home, as well as in her policy '
towards her colonies, pressing upon her colonial possessions practical
independence. She demands that they shall be so far free as to legislate
for themselves, and pay their own expenses. England is now gathering
together her representatives from Africa, and proposes under her benign
sway to form a republican government for long-despised and down-trodden
Africa. Whatever may be said of the Old East India Company under
British protection, let me say, from personal observation, that from the
eternal snows of the Himalayas to the spicy groves of Ceylon, India of to-
day has a wise and paternal government given her by Christian England."
CHAP. LIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 461
CHAPTER LIX.
Miscellaneous Documents and Papers, Extracted from Manuscripts
respecting the u. e. loyalists in the dominion library at
Ottawa.
"character of THE MILITIA." ETC., ETC.
I. " Amongst the first settlers on the frontier of Upper
Canada were those faithful and loyal men, the United
Empire Loyalists, with the Six Nations of Indians, who, at
the sacrifice of their all, were steadfast to the British Crown
during the revolutionary struggle of the old British colonies, now
the United States, for independence, and other United States
citizens who had adopted Canada as a home for themselves and
their children. That struggle ended by the treaty of 1783.
" Those faithful men, the U. E. Loyalists and their associates,
sought an asylum under Britain's Crown in this, the then
wilderness of Canada, which now stands as one of the most
flourishing provinces of our beloved Sovereign. In that
then wilderness the flag of England was unfurled, and after
the lapse of one century, and on the commencement of
another, that flag floats triumphantly over this loyal Canadian
land. Those first settlers were our first militiamen, under our
first and venerated Governor, Sir John Graves Simcoe, in the
year 1791.
" The descendants of those faithful men, with some soldiers
and sailors and others, the sons of Britain who had adopted
Canada, were our first militiamen in the war of 1812 ; and
those who are left of them are therefore the veteran soldiers
of 1812. The war was declared by the United States Govern-
ment aoainst Great Britain, June 18th, 1812— involving Impe-
462 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIX.
rial interests alone, and not those of the colonies.* This
declaration of war against Britain was the signal for the
loyal inhabitants of Canada to rush en masse to the frontier
of their country to repel invasion. In this momentous crisis
we met our beloved Governor and Commander-in-Chief, the
late Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, on the Niagara frontier,
whose monument stands on the battle ground of Queenston
Heights. That monument stands in remembrance of him who
sacriticed his valuable life in duty to his King and in defence
of our Canadian homes ; in memory of him who caused the
youthful part of the Militia of Upper Canada to be embodied
in the Militia Flank Companies, to be trained for actual service
in their country's defence ; in remembrance of him in whom
their entire coniidence was placed — for where he led they were
sure to follow."
II. The invasions of Canada by the Americans during the war
were as follows :
Men.
1. General Hull, at Sandwich 3,000
2. General Van Kensellaer, at Queenston 2,000
3. General Smyth, at Fort Erie 3,000
4. General Pike, Toronto 2,500
5. General Dearborn, Fort George 3,000
6. General Winchester, Chrystler's Farm, for Montreal... 3,000
7. General Hampton, Chateauguay river, L. C, for Mon-
treal 8,000
8. General Brown, Fort Erie 5,000
9. General Brown, Lundy's Lane 5,000
10. General Izzard, Fort Erie 8,000
11. General Wilkinson, Lacolle Mills, L. C 2,500
Total number of invaders 45,000
The foregoing is an aggregate of the United States forces
employed in the attempt to invade and take Canada, when they
* Yet while the American Government professed to declare a defensive
war — a war in defence of their rights at sea — the first act was the invasion of
Canada, for which they had been collecting men and arms for several months
before the declaration of the war ; and thus the first acts of the Canadians
were to provide for the defence of their country and their homes against the
American invasions. The facts show that the real object of the American
Government was to take Canada, and their invaded rights at sea was a mera
pretext.
1
CHAP. LIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 463
desired peace ; and when peace was proclaimed, they did not
find themselves in possession of an inch of Canadian territory.
" Thus it may be said as the opinion of all, that if the loyal
inhabitants of Canada had not, in those days of trial and priva-
tion, stood to their arms under General Brock and other generals,
Canada might not at this day be a continued appendage of
the British Crown. In corroboration of this opinion, I here
insert General Brock's answer to an address of the mao-istrates
at Niagara after Hull's surrender of Detroit. General Brock
said —
" That had not Western Canada rose in their might as one
man, in defence of their rights, and in support of the constitu-
tion of Great Britain, his hands would have been as if tied,
being without the aid of the regular British troops, who were
all then engaged in the European war.
" Truly extracted from my book,
" John Clarke,
" Captain-Adjutant-General of Militia, 1812, '13, '14."
Colonel Clarke says of himself : " I was placed on duty by
General Brock from the commencement of the war of 1812, as
Lieutenant and Adjutant of the 4th Lincoln flank companies.
In March I was promoted to the rank of Captain-Assistant-
Adjutant-General of Militia by General Sir Roger H. Sheafle,
Administrator of the Government of Upper Canada ; which
place I retained until the peace of 1815." — " I served through-
out the rebellion of 1837 and 1838 — being invested with the
couDnand of an organized regiment of militia, the First Fron-
tier Light Infantry."
Colonel Clarke's recollections and reminiscences are in every
respect reliable, and are very valuable, extending to nearly 300
manuscript quarto pages, in the Parliamentary Library at
Ottawa (entitled " U. E. Loyalists"). His own contributions
are entitled, " Memoirs of Colonel John Clarke, of Port Dal-
housie, C. W. ; born in Canada in 1783 : giving an account of
the family's early arrival in the country in 1768 ; the progress
of the settlers ; the arrival of Governor Simcoe, his improve-
ments and government ; settlement of the Indians ; the war of
1812 — full particulars ; the rebellion of 1837 ; the Welland
Canal, and various other things connected with the progressive
growth of Upper Canada."
464 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIX.
TREATMENT OF CANADIANS BY THE AMERICANS WHO INVADED CANADA,
"In 1812 General Hull invaded the British province of
Upper Canada, and took possession of the town of Sandwich.
He threatened (by proclamation) to exterminate the inhabi-
tants if they made any resistance. He plundered those with
whom he had been on habits of intimacy for years before the
war. Their plate and linen were found in his possession after
his surrender to General Brock. He marked out the loyal
subjects of the King as objects of his peculiar resentment, and
consigned their property to pillage and conflagration.
"In the autumn of 1812, several houses and barns were
burnt by the American forces near Fort Erie, Upper Canada.
" In 1813 — April — the public buildings of York, the capital
of Upper Canada, were burnt by the troops of the United
States, contrary to the articles of capitulation. These public
buildings consisted of two elegant halls, with convenient offices
for the accommodation of the Legislature and the Courts of
Justice. The library and all the papers and records belonging
to these institutions were consumed at the same time. The
Church was robbed, and the town library perfectly pillaged.
Commodore Chauncey, who has generally behaved honourably,
was so ashamed of this last transaction, that he endeavoured to
collect the books belonging to the town and legislative library,
and actually sent back two boxes filled with them ; but hardly
any were complete. Much private property was plundered, and
several houses left in a state of ruin.
"In June, 1813, Newark, Niagara, came into possession of
the army of the United States, and its inhabitants were
repeatedly promised protection to themselves and property by
Generals Dearborn and Boyd. In the midst of these professions,
the most respectable of them, although non-combatants, were
made prisoners and sent to the United States.
" Two churches were burnt to the ground. Detachments were
sent under the direction of British traitors [of whom the traitor
deserter Wilcox was the leader] to pillage the loyal inhabitants
in the neighbourhood. Many farm-houses were burnt during
the summer ; and, at length, to fill up the measure of iniquityj
the whole beautiful town of Newark, with a short previous
intimation — so short as to amount to none, and in an intense
CHAP. LIX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 465
cold day of the 10th of December — was consigned to the
flames.
" The wretched inhabitants had scarcely time to save them-
selves, much less any of their property. More than 400 women
and children were exposed without shelter, on the night of
December the 10th, to the inclement cold of a Canadian winter.
A great number must have perished, had not the flight of the
American troops, after perpetrating their unfeeling act, enabled
the inhabitants of the country to come to their relief.
"President Madison has attempted to justify this cruel act
as necessary for the defence of Fort George. Nothing can be
more false. The town was some distance from the fort ; and
instead of thinking to defend it. General McClure was actually
retreating to his own shore when he caused Newark (Niagara)
to be burnt. This officer says that he acted in conformity with
the orders of his Government.
"The American Government, finding their defence useless,
disavow the conduct of McClure, who appears to have been a
fit agent for such a Government. He not only complied with
his instructions ; but he refined upon them, by choosing a day
of intense severity, giving the inhabitants almost no warning
until the fire began, and the conflagration in the night."
(The above facts relating to the burning, etc., are extracted
from the proceedings of the Loyal Patriotic Society of Upper
Canada, established at York for the relief of sufferers in the
war ; and of which Chief Justice Scott was President.)
The Royal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada was
established at Toronto, extended its branches to different parts
of the Province, existed from 1812 to 1815, and did a great deal
for the relief of sufferers by the war. On the destruction of
the town of Niagara, large subscriptions were obtained and
distributed for the relief of the sufferers. The following are
extracts from its recorded proceedings :
" The inhabitants came forward in the most noble manner,
as well as the gallant officers of his Majesty's troops.
Major-General Sheaffe £200
Lieutenant-Colonel Bishop 100
with a vast number of liberal subscriptions, according to the
VOL. II. — 30
466 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIX.
means of the donors : so that in a short time uj)wards of £2,000
was raised to commence with.
City of Kingston sent X500
Amherstbnrg " 300
City of Montreal " 3,000
Quebec " 1,500
" The amount raised in the first year was £10,000.
" Eight hundred and sixty-four (864) families were relieved
from starvation by this timely aid.
" The following summer a large meeting was held in London
(England), at which the Duke of Kent, who had visited Canada
twenty years before, presided. By his influence a very large
sum was subscribed. The Bank of England graced the list
with £1,000. This effort produced another £10,000.
Kingston in Jamaica sent X2,000
Nova Scotia " 2,500
" Indeed, the liberality evinced in all quarters was of the
greatest service to the sufferers, and gladdened many bowed
down by sorrow and indigence."
The whole of these interesting particulars may be seen in
the Transactions of the Society, published in Toronto, 1814.
It may be interesting to the reader if I subjoin the address
of the President, explanatory of the origin, character, and objects
of this noble Society, the former existence of which is now
scarcely known :
"AN ADDRESS
" Copied from the Proceedings of the Loyal Patriotic Society of
Upper Canada, who, by their funds, relieved much real
distress to families in the war of 1812, '13, 7^.
" Gentlemen, — In the unprovoked war waged against us by
the American Government, Providence hath evidently smiled
on the justice of our cause.
" But our exertions have been attended with many privations
and sacrifices hard to be borne, and should hostilities continue
many more will be required.
" In order to mitigate some of these, the inhabitants of York
came forward to contribute toward the comforts of the flank
CHAP. LIX.l AND THEIR TIMES. 467
companies ; and a lai-ge sum of money was raised for that
purpose, of which the greater part is expended.
" But, on reflection, it appeared that something more might
be done of a permanent nature, and that portion of the
inhabitants who are not liable to military duty, eager to prove
that their zeal in the cause is not inferior to that of those in
actual service, formed themselves into a Society, named ' The
Loyal Patriotic Society of Upper Canada,' for the following
distinct purposes :
" 1st. To afford aid and relief to such families of the militia,
in all parts of the Province, as shall be made to apj)ear to ex-
perience particular distress, in consequence of the death or
absence of some of their friends and relations.
"2nd. To aflbrd like aid and relief to such militiamen as
have been or shall be disabled from labour by their wounds
or otherwise in course of the service aforesaid.
" 3rd. To reward merit, excite and commemorate glorious
events, by bestowing medals or other honorary marks of
public approbation or distinction for extraordinary instances
of personal courage or fidelity in defence of the Province by
individuals, either of his Majesty's regular troops or militia
forces.
" 4th. Also the seamen on the lakes.
" This Society, so honourable in its nature, and which we hope
will prove most important in its consequences, was first sug-
gested by the Honourable Mr. Selby, and was received with
acclamation.
" In a public meeting of the gentlemen of York and its
vicinity, the Chief explained the great advantages likely to
result from it, if generally supported ; and, assisted by his most
respectable colleagues, prepared views for its management.
To these the meeting gave their cordial assent, and in a few
minutes nearly $2,000 per annum was subscribed. There are
some who have given during the continuance of the war one-
tenth of their income.
" General SheafFe, in a letter to the Chief Justice, our chair-
man, not only extols, in earnest language, the objects of the
Society, but, far exceeding our expectations, presents us with
£200. Colonel Bishop, a stranger [who was afterwards mortally
468 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LIX.
wounded at Black Rock], and not an inhabitant of the Province,
with a liberality above all praise, subscribes £100.
"Now, gentlemen, our object in addressing you is to procure
your co-operation. Foremost in deeds of warlike glorj^, we
desire that you should become sharers in the work of benevo-
lence.
" Let your contributions be as small as you please — a half-
penny, a farthing per day — anything to show your good-will.
" It is not the value of what you give ; it is your counte-
nance that we mainly desire.
" We know that your means are narrow, but your example is
inestimable ; and we shall be proud of having you for our com-
panions and supporters in mitigating the distress incident to
the war.
" And when it is heard that the York Volunteers and their
comrades, among the first in danger, have patronized this
Society, the militia of other districts will be anxious to emu-
late the military glory of the conquerors of Detroit and
Queenston, and will hasten to emulate you in contributing to
the support of our benevolent design.
" Those that join will intimate to the captains what they are
willing to give, while they are in active service, that it may
be paid over monthly to the treasurer.
" And they will remember that they are soothing the sick
and the wounded in war, protecting aged parents and helpless
children, and doing all they can to comfort those whom they
love and revere, who suffer during the horrors of war."
(Signed) Chief Justice Scott,
President.
Alex. Wood,
Secretary.
The above excellent address is understood to have been
written by the late Dr. Strachan, first Bishop of the Church
of England of Toronto, and who acted the part of a true, a bold,
and generous patriot during the war of 1812-15.
CHAP. LX] AXD THEIR TIMES. 469
CHAPTER LX.
Close op the War and of the History of the U. E. Loyalists —
Defeat and Disgrace of the Democratic Invaders of Canada
— Honour and Success of its Defenders — Comparative State
OF THE United States and Canada at the Close of the War —
Mutual Respect and Friendship between Americans and Cana-
dians— Concluding Remarks.
Thus closed the war of the United States aofainst Great
Britain, in 1812-15 — a war undertaken at the prompting of
the scourge of Europe, Napoleon, but upon pretexts which
were never so much as mentioned, much less reiterated, by the
United States Commissioners when peace was proposed between
Great Britain and America in 1815 — a war in which the
democratic rulers of the United States suffered both defeat
and disgrace, while the loyal inhabitants of Canada maintained
inviolate their honour and independence.
With the close of that war terminates the history of the United
Empire Loyalists of Canada as a distinct and controlling class
of the inhabitants ; for their numbers had become so reduced by
the ravaofes of time and war, and other classes of immigrants
had become so numerous, between whom and the families of old
Loyalists so many intermarriages had taken and were taking
place, that the latter became merged in the mass of the popu-
lation ; and therefore my history of them as a distinct class
comes to an end. All classes were Loyalists, and all had fought
as one man in defence of their country during the recent war,
althouo:h all had not fought for the life of the nation and the
unity of the empire from 1776 to 1783, or been driven from
their homes to Canada, to become the fathers of the inhabitants
and founders of the institutions of our country. It would be
470 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LX.
out of place, and at variance with the title of my book, did I
proceed to narrate and discuss the history of Upper Canada
after the close of the war ; but I may properly conclude my
work by referring to a few facts leading to and arising out
of the war, and the state of our country at its close.
The democratic party in the United States^, which had con-
fiscated the property of our forefathers, and exiled them from
their homes, and compelled them to seek a home in the wilder-
ness of Canada, had followed them with their enmities into their
new place of refuge, and, by their emissaries, in conjunction
with those of the French revolutionists, sought to insinuate
a disturbing element into Canadian peace and safety from the
commencement of the bloody French revolution to 1812, when
it culminated, under the promptings of Napoleon and his
obsequioiis tools, in the war of 1812-15, with a view to wrest
Canada from Great Britain, and to divide the commerce of
Europe between France and the United States. But how vain
are the devices of men against the laws of God and of human
society ! The Gideon hundreds of loyal Canadians repelled and
scattered, for more than two years, the Midian and Amalekite
thousands of democratic invaders, until Great Britain, having
chained the marauding tiger of Europe to the rock of St.
Helena, despatched her thousands of soldiers to the aid of
Canada, and sent her fleets across the Atlantic — sweeping the
American coasts from Maine to Georgia — taking and burning
their capital in retaliation for the American raid upon the
capital of Upper Canada, and soon compelling the heretofore
boasting Madison partizans to seek for peace without even the
mention of their alleged causes of war with England. If the
American armies were defeated and driven back in their re-
peated invasions of Canada, their commerce and commercial
men suffered not less before the end of the war. Their annual
exports declined, between 1811 and 1814, from £22,000,000
sterling to £1,500,000 ; their vessels to the number of 3,000 were
captured ; two-thirds of their commercial class were reduced to
bankruptcy ; an immense war tax was incurred ; many thousands
of lives had been sacrificed, and the Union itself imperilled
by the threatened secession of the JSTew England States.
On the other hand, Canada had felt deeply the calamities of
war, it being the seat of the conflict, a large portion of its
CHAP. LX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 471
revenue and inhabitants having been diverted from their
ordinary employments — having themselves chiefly to depend
upon for their defence, while England was engaged in a twenty
years' conflict for law and liberty in Europe. In the extremity
of this contest, the democratic President of the United States
combined with the tyrant despot of Europe to sedjice and sever
the Canadians from their British connection ; but the Cana-
dians nobly maintained their fidelity and triumphantly vindi-
cated their honour and independence, though, in doing so, they
suffered the desolation of many of their homes, shed many
bitter tears for sires, and sons, and brothers, who had poured
out their life's blood in defence of their country on the battle
fields of both Upper and Lower Canada. Yet, upon the whole,
the war did much good to Canada, apart from the success of its
arms ; it tended to cement the people together as one family ;
English, French, Scotch, Irish, and Americans had forgotten
former distinctions and jealousies, and had all become Cana-
dians, with increased devotion not only to the land of their
nativity or adoption, but to the glorious mother country which
had become the victorious champion of the liberties of Europe,
and leader in the civilization of mankind.
Though, in the course of the war, Canada — especially Upper
Canada, which had to bear the brunt of it — was greatly
exhausted, emigration being checked, agriculture partially
neglected, by the embodiments of militia and frequent mobiliza-
tion of sedentary corps, — requiring some time after the war for
the inhabitants to return to their old habits and resume their
peaceful pursuits ; yet Canada flourished financially during the
war. Owing to England's supremacy on the ocean, Canadian
trade and commerce were not seriously affected ; taxes were
light ; not a few fortunes were made ; money was plentiful, as.
the mother country paid most of the expenses of th»-war.
It is worthy of remark, as one of the notable features of
the war, that no class of Canadians were more loyal, none
more brave and devoted to the defence of the Government and
institutions of the country, than were the Americans who had
become settlers in Canada — not the United Empire Loyalists
alone, but those who had from time to time emigrated from the
United States of their own accord, and not on account of
political persecution, as was the case with the old Loyalists.
472 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA [CHAP. LX.
The unfriendly feelings and even enmities which had been
excited by the war between Canadians and Americans, soon
changed into mutual respect and friendship ; trade and com-
merce between the two countries were renewed and increased ;
intermarriages multiplied, with all the amenities and intimacies
of social life.. Though there ha« always been a democratic mob
faction — latterly mostly Fenian — in the United States, which
has seized every opportunity to invade and disturb the peace of
Canada, yet it is well understood that this freebooting faction
does not represent the sentiments or feelings of the industrious,
business, commercial, intelligent, and Christian people of the
United States, who, with few exceptions, are, as most of them
were when Madison declared war against England in June, 1812,
lovers of peace, law, and order, and friends of England and
Canada, as well as of mankind ; and we believe there are no
more ardent well-wishers on the continent of America for the
happiness and prosperity of the citizens of the American
Republic than the loyal and patriotic inhabitants of Canada.
I may perhaps be expected to add a few words on the chief
public occurrences which took place in Upper Canada after the
war, but without discussing any of the questions which they
involved.
From 1791 to the close of the war in 1815, and for some
years afterwards, the Executive Government of the day com-
manded the votes of a majority of the House of Assembly.
Public questions and measures wei-e freely discussed ; but no
organized opposition appeared in the Assembly against the
Administration. Shortly after the close of the war, however,
the elements of discord began to be developed in the country.
Many discharged officers of the British army, at the termination
of the long European war, came to Canada with instruc-
tions from-*the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the
Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (himself an English
officer), to provide for them ; and they were appointed to all
offices of emolument (with few exceptions), to the exclusion of
the old Loyalists and their descendants and other inhabitants
who had felled the wilderness, and made the country valuable,
and had borne the burden and heat of the war in its defence.
The administration of the Crown or Public Lands was sadly
.defective and partial, giving whole blocks to friends and specu-
CHAP. LX.] AND THEIR TIMES. 473
lators, while the applications of the legitimate settler were
often rejected. It also began to be complained of that these
large blocks of land given to individuals, and the one-seventh
of the lands set apart as Clergy Reserves, greatly impeded the
settlement and improvement of the country; that those who
had occupied the Clergy Reserves on leases were required to
pay higher rents on the renewal of their leases, or the pur-
chase of the Reserves, on account of their increased value
created by the labour of the tenants and their neighbours. A
special Board of Management was appointed for these Reserves
in the interest of the clerical claimants of them. The repre-
sentatives of the Church of Scotland claimed to share in the
proceeds of the Clergy Reserves, and a co-ordinate standing
with the Church of England, as the endowed Church establish-
ment of Upper Canada. The other religious persuasions had
not the privilege of having matrimony solemnized by their own
ministers, or the right of holding a bit of ground on which to
worship God, or in which to bury their dead. It soon began
to be claimed by the leaders of the Church of England that
their Church had the sole right to the Clergy Reserves and to
all the prerogatives of the Established Church, whose supremacy
and endowments, it was now pretended, were essential to the
loyalty of the people ; notwithstanding, no people could have
been more loyal than the Canadian people during the then
recent war in defence of British supremacy, and who were as
brave as they were loyal, though there were not then three
settled Episcopal clergymen in all Upper Canada.
These, with various co-ordinate and minor causes, lost to the
Lieutenant-Governor and his Executive Council the control
and confidence of the representatives of the people, and in less
than ten years after the war, the Governor and Council fell
into a hopeless minority in the House of Assembly, but in
opposition to it actually governed the country for fifteen
years, until the dissatisfaction of the people became so general
and strong that Commissions of Inquiry were sent out from
England, which resulted in placing all religious persuasions on
an equal footing before the law, in applying the proceeds of
the Clergy Reserves to the general purposes of the education
and improvement of the country, in making the heads of public
departments (who were to be Executive Councillors) respon-
474 THE LOYALISTS OF AMERICA. [CHAP. LX.
sible to the House of Assembly, and holding their offices no
longer than they enjoyed its confidence. From that time
forward the Government became strong, the people contented,
and the country prosperous and rapidly increasing in wealth,
education, and intelligence — rendering, at this day, the inhabi-
tants of the vast Dominion of Canada the lightest-taxed and
the freest people on the American continent.
GENERAL INDEX.
475
GENEBAL INDEX
Abercromloie (General) — Arrives in
America with the troops, and forty
German officers to drill and com-
mand regiments in America
(which gives offence to the Colo-
nists), "i. 257.
Is disgracefully defeated hy Mont-
calm (though commanding the
largest force ever assembled in
America), i. 258.
With General Loudoun, hesitates
and delays at Albanj^, while the
French generals are active and
successful, i. 258.
Adams (John)-
The prompter and
' Tories." ii.
adviser of hanging
127.
Address of Governor Winthrop and
his company on leaving England,
in 1630, to their " Fathers and
Brethren of the Church of Eng-
land," declaring their filial and
undying love to the Church of
England, as their " dear mother,"
from whose breasts they had de-
rived their nourishment, i. 55.
Alliance between Congress and the
Kings of France not produc-
tive of the effect anticipated, and
deferred twelve months by France
after it had been applied for by
Congress, ii. 1.
American Affairs — ISfisrepresented in
the English Parliament and by
the English Press, i. 390.
American boastings groundless over
the surrender of Cornwallis.
ii. 46.
American Colonies — Their position in
regard to England and other na-
tions at the Peace of Paris, 1763.
i. 274.
American Revolution — primary cause
of it. i. 30.
American treatment of Canadians by
Americans who invaded them,
ii. 464.
Invasions of Canada, and their
forces, ii. 262.
Amherst (Lord) — Supersedes Aber-
crombie as Commander-in-Chief,
assisted by General Wolfe, i.
260.
Plans three expeditions, all of which
are successful, i. 261.
His energetic movements, i. 262.
He receives all Canada for the King
from the French, i. 267.
His parting address to the army,
i. 268.
Anderson (Samuel), ii. 192.
Andros (Edmond) — Appointed local
Governor of Massachusetts Bay,
and Governor-General of New
England ; his tyranny ; seized
at Boston and sent prisoner to
England, i. 215.
(Examined) — Acquitted by King
William in Council, because he
had acted according to his in-
structions, i. 215.
Articles of treaty and preamble,
ii. 56.
Associations in the Colonies against
the use of tea imported from
England, i. 370.
Bancroft — Confirms the statement as
to the aggressions and preten-
sions of the Massachusetts Bay
Government, i. 200.
His interpretations against England.
i. 247.
476
GENERAL INDEX.
Baptists — The persecution of them
instigated by the Eev. Messrs.
Wilson and Newton, and justi-
fied by the Rev. Mr. Cotton, i.
120.
Barnard (Governor) — His reply to
the Massachusetts Legislative
Assembly, i. 357.
His recall and character, i. 359.
Bethune (Rev. John), ii. 192.
Boston and Massachusetts — Three
Acts of Parliament against, all
infringing and extinguishing the
heretofore acknowledG;ed consti-
tutional rights of the people,
i. 389.
Boston — In great distress ; addresses
of sympathy and contributions
from other towns and provinces.
Fourth Act of Parliament, legaliz-
ing the quartering of troops in.
i. 397.
General sympathy and liberality in
its behalf, i. 404.
Boston Massacre — Soldiers acquitted
by a Boston jury. i. 365.
Boyle (Hon. Robert) — In a letter in
which he expostulates with the
Massachusetts Bay rulers on the
intolerance and unreasonableness
of their conduct, i. 160.
Braddock's unfortunate expedition,
i. 247.
Bradstreet (Colonel) — His brilliant
achievement in taking and de-
stroying Fort Frontenac. i. 261.
Bradstreet and Norton — Sent to Eng-
land to answer complaints ;
favourably received; first thanked
and then censured by the Massa-
chusetts Bay rulers • Norton dies
of grief, i. 142.
Brock (Sir Isaac)— His address to the
Legislature of Upper Canada, ii.
341, 342.
Takes Detroit, ii. 352-354.
Proclamation to the inhabitants of
Michigan, ii. 362, 363.
Killed at Queenston Heights, ii.
366.
Brown, Samuel and John — Their
character and position, i. 35,
Banished from Massachusetts Bay
for adliering to Episcopal wor-
ship, i. 35.
Misrepresented by Messrs. Palfrey
and Bancroft, i. 37.
Their letters and papers seized, and
their complaints successfully de-
nied to the King by their perse-
cutors, i. 46.
Their conduct unblamable, i. 42.
Bunker's Hill, Concord, and Lexing-
ton— Battles of, numbers engaged,
with the accounts, on both sides,
i. 460,461.
Burke (the celebrated Edmund) — Re-
views and denounces the perse-
cuting laws and spirit of the
Massachusetts Bay Puritans, dur-
ing thirty years, i. 122.
Canadian Militia — Their character,
ii. 461.
Canada — What had been claimed by
old American colonies in regard
to the payment of otficial salaries
contended for by, and granted to
Canada, to the satisfaction and
progress of the countrj^ i. 267.
Canada wholly surrendered to the
King of Great Britain, through
Lord Amherst, i. 267.
Canada — State of at the close of the
war. ii. 471.
CarscaUen (Luke), ii. 202.
Causes — Characteristics of early emi-
gration to New England, i. 25.
Change of government in England
and end of Lord North's admin-
istration, ii. 57.
Change of tone and professions at
Massachusetts Bay on the con-
firmation of the King's restora-
tion, i. 131.
The King's kind reply to their address
— their joy at it, but they evade
the six conditions on which the
King proposes to forgive their
past and continue their charter.
i. 135—137, 139.
Characteristics of fifty-four years'
government of Massachussetts
Bay, under the first charter.
217.
GENERAL INDEX.
477
Charles the First — Deceived by the
misstatements of the Massachu-
setts Bay Puritans, to decide in
their favour against the com-
plaints made in 1632 i. 67.
His kind and indulgent conduct to
the Massachusetts Bay Company,
and how they deceived him. i. 67.
Charles the Second — His restoration;
news of it received with joj^ in all
the Colonies except in Massa-
chusetts, where false rumours are
circulated, i. 130.
Chateauguay, Battle of. ii. 413.
Chatham (Earl of) — Amendment ;
speech in the House of Lords
(1774) against the coercive policy
of the Ministry and defence of
Colonial rights ; his amendment
opposed by Lord Suffolk, and
supported by Lord Camden ; neg-
atived by a majority of 68 to 18.
i. 423-429.
His bill " to settle the troubles in
America" not allowed a first
reading in the Lords, i. 425.
Chrysler's Farm, Battle of. ii. 419.
Clarendon (Earl of. Chancellor) —
Reply to the address to the King,
Charles II., of the Massachusetts
Bay rulers, dated October 25,
1664, in which Lord Clarendon
exposes the groundlessness of their
pretensions, suspicions, and im-
putations, i. 160.
Clark (Colonel John), and his Man-
uscript contributions, ii.
Clinton (Sir Henry) — Succeeds Gen-
eral Howe as Commander-in-
Chief, ii. 14.
Deceived as to the design of Wash-
ington and the French com-
mander, ii. 42.
Fails to reinforce Lord Cornwallis.
ii. 44.
Colonies — All resolve in favour of a
general convention or congress
and election of delegates to it, in
1774. i. 408.
How information on subjects of
agitation was rapidly diffused
throughout the Colonies, i. 405_
Colonial Assemblies — Their dissolu-
tions, i. 356.
Colonists — Their agreements for the
non-importation of British manu-
factured goods, i. 356.
Sons of Governors Barnard and
Hutchinson refuse to enter into
agreement, but are at length com-
pelled to yield, i. 360.
Their effective services to England
in the English and French war ;
their experience and skill thereby
acquired in military affairs ; their
superiority as marksmen, i. 460.
Desire to provide as aforetime for
their own defence and the sup-
port of their own local govern-
ment, as is done in the provinces
of the Dominion of Canada.
i. 460.
Colonist — The writer a native, i. 1.
Colonies — Tliree causes of irritation in
1768. i. 348.
Unjust imputations in the British
Parliament and Press against
their loyalty, i. 353.
Their manly response to the impu-
tations and assertion of British
rights, led by the General As-
sembly of Virginia. * i. 355.
Company of Massachusetts Bay —
Write to Endicot and ministers
sent by them against Church
innovations, i. 49, 51.
Deny to the King and British
public having made any Church
innovations in Massachusetts,
i. 53.
Complaints of banished Episcopalians,
persecuted Presbyterians, Bap-
tists, &c., to the King. i. 46, 137.
Complaints of the Massachussetts
Bay Rulers — a pretext to per-
petuate sectarian rule and per-
secution, i. 183.
Conduct and pretensions of Massa-
chusetts Bay Rulers condemned
and exposed by Loyalist inhabi-
tants of Boston, Salem, Newbury,
and Ipswich, i. 163.
Congregationalists — None other eligi-
ble for olSce, or allowed the elec-
tive franchise at Massachussetts
Bay. i. 63.
Congress (First General Congress) —
478
GENERAL INDEX.
Met at Philadelphia, September,
1774. i. 409.
The word defined, i. 409.
Each day's proceedings commenced
with prayer, i. 410.
Its members and their constituents
tliroughout the Colonies thor-
oughly loyal, while maintaining
British constitutional rights, i.
410.
Its declaration of rights and griev-
ances.
i. 411.
Its loyal address to the King. i. 414.
Its manly and affectionate appeal
to the British Nation, i. 416.
The address of its members to their
constituents — a temperate and
lucid exposition of tlieir griev-
ances and sentiments, i. 417.
Its proceedings reach England be-
fore the adjouinment for the
Christmas holidays in 1774, and
produce an imiwessioii favourable
to the Colonies, i. 420.
(Second Continental) meets in
Pliiladelphia, September, 1775 ;
number and character of its mem-
bers, i. 442.
Its noble and affectionate petition
to the King ; the King denies
an audience to its agent, Mr.
Penn, and answers tlie petition
by proclamation, declaring it
" rebellion," and the petitioners
"rebels." i. 443-445.
Its petition to the House of Com-
mons rejected, and its agent, Mr.
Penn, not asked a question, i.
444.
A large majority (Oct. 1775) still
opposed to independence, but
unanimous in defence of British
constitutional rights, i. 448.
Divided on the question of Inde-
pendence, which is first moved in
Congress in May, 1776 — deferred,
after long debates, for three
weeks, by a vote of seven to five
Colonies, i. 483, 484.
Manipulation and agitation to pre-
pare the members of Congress
and the Colonies for separation
from England, i. 482-485.
Proceeds with closed doors, and its
m.embers sworn to secrecy.
Votes by Colonies, and decides that
each vote be reported unanimous,
though carried by only a bare
majority, i. 486.
After three days' debate, the six
Colonies for and seven Colonies
against independence ; how a
majoritv of one was obtained in
favour of it. i. 486, 487.
Refuses to confer with British
Commissioners with a view to
reconciliation, ii. 2.
Feelings of the people of England
and America different from those
of the leaders of Congress, ii. 14.
Sycophancy of its leaders to France.
ii. 13.
Its degeneracy in 1778, as stated by
General Washington, ii. 29.
The depression of its credit, ii. 30.
It confiscates and orders the sale of
tlie property of " Tories." ii. 30.
Appeals to France for men and
money as their only hope. ii. 40.
Fallacy of the plea or pretext that
it had not power to giant compen-
sation to the Loyalists, ii. 61.
Meets at Philadelphia, 10th May,
1776. i. 479.
Contests — Chiefly between the Colo-
nists, the French, and the Indians,
from 1648 to 1654. i. 250.
Colonies — their divided councils
and isolated resources, i. 257.
Their alarming state of affairs at the
close of the year 1757. i. 255.^
Cornwallis — His antecedents, ii. 38 ;
his severe policy injurious to the
British cause, ii. 40 ; his defence
of Yorktown, ii. 44 ; his sur-
render to the French and Amer-
ican armies, ii. 45 ; conditions of
capitulation, ii. 46.
Count De Grasse — Sails from New
York to the Chesapeake with a
fleet of 28 ships and 7,000 French
troops, ii. 43.
Crown Point taken from the French
by the English, i. 263.
Debts — Incurred by the New England
Colonies in the Indian wars ;
how Massachusetts was relieved
GENERAL INDEX.
479
by England, and made prosper-
ous, i. 240.
Declaration of American Indepen-
dence— How the vote of the ma-
jority of the Colonies for it was
obtained, and how reported, i.
486, 487.
Copy of it. i. 488.
Homage of respect by the authors
to the fathers of. i. 492-495.
Described, i. 492-495.
1. A renunciation of all the prin-
ciples on which the General Con-
gress, Provincial Legislatures, and
Conventions professed to act from
the beginning of the contest ;
proofs and illustrations, i. 496-
499.
2. A violation of good faith to those
statesmen and numerous other
parties in Great Britain, who had,
in and out of Parliament, defended
and supported the rights and
character of the Colonists during
the whole contest ; proofs and
illustrations, i. 499-501.
A violation, not only of good faith,
but of justice to the numerous
Colonists who adhered to con-
nection with the Mother Country ;
proofs and illustrations, i. 501-
504.
4. The commencement of persecu-
tions and proscriptions and con-
fiscation of property against those
who refused to renounce the
oaths which they had taken, and
the principles and traditions
which had, until then, been pro-
fessed by their persecutors and
oppressors as well as by them-
selves ; proofs and illustrations,
i. 504-507.
The plea of tyranny, i. 504.
5. The commencement of weakness
in the army of its authors, and
of defeat in their battle-fields ;
proofs and illustrations, i. 508-
513.
6. The announced expedient and
prelude to an alliance with France
and Spain against the Mother
Country, i. 513-517.
New penal laws passed against the
Loyalists after adopting it. ii. 5.
Detroit — Taken by the British under
General Brock, ii. 354.
De Salaberry (General) — Defeats
10,000 Americans with 300 Ca-
nadians at Chateauquay. ii. 381.
D'Estaing — His doings and failures in
America, ii. 17-27.
Diamond (John), ii. 202.
Doane. ii. 192.
Dudley (Joseph) — Appointed Gover-
nor of Massachusetts by King
James II. i. 212.
Dunmore (Earl of) — Governor of Vir-
ginia, commits the same outrages
upon the inhabitants of Virginia,
and about the same time, as those
committed by General Gage upon
the inhabitants of Massachusetts.
i. 462.
Assembles the House of Burgesses
to deliberate and decide upon
Lord North's so-called "concili-
atory proposition" to the Colo-
nies ; tiie House rejects the pro-
position on a report prepared by
Mr. Jefferson — a document eulo-
gized in the strongest terms by
tiie Earl of Shelburne. i. 464.
East India Company — Disastrous
effect of its agreement with the
British Government, i. 381.
East India Company's Tea — Causes of
it being thrown into Boston Har-
bour, as stated on both sides, i.
377.
Elections in England hastened in the
autumn of 1774 ; adverse to the
Colonies, i. 419.
Emigrants to Massachusetts Bay —
Two classes, i. 1,
Emigration to Massachusetts Bay stop-
ped by a change of Government
in England, i. 85.
Endicot — Leader of the first company
of emigrants to Massachusetts
Bay. i. 27.
His character, i. 27.
Becomes a Congregationalist. i. 29.
Abolishes the Church of England,
and banishes its adherents, i. 29.
Cause of all the tyrannical pro-
ceedings against them. i. 42.
480
GENERAL INDEX.
Finally condemned by the Com-
pany, biit officially retained by
them. i. 43-48.
England's best and only means of
piotecting the Colonies against
J^ rencli encroachments and inva-
sion, i. 244.
Position in respect to other Euro-
pean Powers at the Peace of
Paris in 1763. i. 273.
England — Its resources at the conclu-
sion of the Eevolutionary war.
ii. 48, 49.
The war party, and corrupt Admin-
istration, is defeated, ii. 48, 49.
Change of Administration and of
policy, both for England and the
Colonies, ii. 53.
Names of new Ministers, &c. ii. 53.
English Generals and soldiers refuse
to tight against the Colonists, i.
44(5.
English Government employs seven-
teen thousand German merce-
naries to bring the Colonists to
absolute submission, i. 446-479.
Its change of policy, and eflect of
it in regard to the Colonies
after the Peace of Paris, 1763.
i. 277.
Its tirst acts which caused dissatis-
faction and alienation in the
American Colonies, i. 279.
Falmouth (now Portland) bombarded
and burnt, by Captain Mowat, of
the British Navy. i. 446.
Five-sixths of the male population
disfranchised by Puritan bigotry
and intolerance at Massachusetts
Bay. i. 63.
Fort de Quesne taken by the English
and called Pittsburg, i. 263.
Fox (C. J.) — His amendment to Lord
North's address to the King, 1775,
rejected bv a majority of 304 to
105. i. 430.
France and England at war ; mutu-
ally restore, m 1748, places taken
during the iirst war. i. 242.
Franklin (Dr.) — His evidence at the
Bar of the House of Commons
on the Stamp Act, etc. i. 308.
Dismissed from office the following
day. i. 426.
His petition to the House of Com-
mons rejected, i. 426.
Proposes to include Canada in the
United States, ii. 54.
Counter scheme to defeat the pro-
position of the English Commis-
sioners, ii. 58.
Outwits the English Commission-
ers, ii. 63.
His Indian scalp fictions, ii. 119.
French — Attempt to take Quebec.
i. 266.
Bitter feeling between French and
American officers and soldiers, at
Rhode Island, Boston, Charles-
ton, and Savannah, ii. 20-25.
Encroachments on the British
Colonies, from 1748 to 1756. i.
243.
Evasions and disclaimers, while en-
croaching on the British Colonies
and making preparations for war
against England, i. 245.
Successes in 1755, 1756, and 1757,
in the war M'ith England, i. 252.
French Fleet — Its complete failure
under Count D'Estaing. ii. 17.
French Officers and Soldiers — Their
kindness to the English after the
defeat of Lord Cornwallis. ii.
129.
Gage (General) — His arrival in Bos-
ton ; courteous reception, as suc-
cessor to Governor Hutchinson ;
his character, i. 398.
Summons a meeting of the Legis-
lature, which adjourns to meet
at Salem, and which replies
respectfully but firmly to Gov-
ernor Gage's speech ; his l:»itter
answer, i. 399.
His curious dissolution of the last
Legislature held in Massachusetts
Bay according to its first charter,
which had proceeded with closed
doors, and adopted by a majority
of 92 to 12, declaring the neces-
sity oi a meeting of all the Colo-
nies to meet and consult together
on their present state, i. 401.
GENERAL INDEX.
481
Governor of Massachusetts, and
Commander-in-chief of the Bri-
tish in America, commences the
first attack upon the Colonists,
i. 460.
Governments of the British Provinces,
ii. 271-276.
(1) Nova Scotia, ii. 274-277.
(2) New Brunswick, ii. 277-280.
(3) Prince Edward Island, ii. 280.
(4) Lower Canada, ii. 281-306.
(See table of contents, chapter
xlv.)
(5) Upper Canada, ii. 307-316.
(See table of contents, chapter
xlvi.)
Governor of Massachusetts Bay Pu-
ritans and a majority of the assis-
tants or magistrates vote in fa-
vour of submitting to the decision
of tlie King on the conditions of
perpetuating the Charter ; but
Congregational Ministers advise,
and the majority of the deputies
vote against it.
i. 208, 209.
Governors of South and North Caro-
lina (Campbell and Martin), like
Dunmore, Governor of Virginia,
betake themselves to ships — the
Colonists in each case being
treated with like severity, i. 473.
Haight (Canniff). ii. 219.
Happiness and prosperity of Massa-
chusetts during seventy years
under the second Charter, i. 240.
Harris (Mrs. Amelia), ii. 228-256.
Hessian soldiers — Their unreliable
and bad character, ii. 73.
Hildreth, the historian, on the gloomy
state of American affairs at the
close of 1780. ii. 41.
Hillsborough (Earl of) — Effects of his
circular letter to Colonial Gov-
ernors, i. 345.
Joy in the Colonies at his despatch
promising to repeal the obnoxious
revenue Acts, and to imjDose no
more taxes on the Colonists by
acts of the British Parliament,
i. 361.
Holland— Flight of Pilgrim Fathers
to ; trades there, i. 10.
VOL. II. — 31
Howe (Lord)— A monument erected
to his memory in Westminster
Abbey, at the expense of ^250
sterling, by the Massachusetts
Court, i. 260.
Hutchinson (Governor of Massachu-
setts) and his sons alone de-
termine to land the East India
Company tea in Boston, i. 376.
His account of the transactions at
Boston, and vindication of him-
self, i. 383.
His conduct different from that of
the Governors of other Colonies.
i. 387.
Independence disclaimed by Franklin
in 1773, by Washington and Jef-
ferson and by leading New Eng-
landers in July, 1775. i. 451-453.
Independents, origin of. i. 7.
Indians — Employed by both French
and English in their wars. ii. 75.
Their employment in the war with
the Colonies, opposed by the Eng-
lish Generals, ii. 76.
Their employment disadvantageous
to England, ii. 76.
Their alliance and co-operation
sought for by Congress, ii. 77.
Retaliations upon them by the Con-
gress soldiers exceeded all that
had been committed by the In-
dians upon the Americans — opin-
ion of American writers, ii. 77.
Much that was written against them
during the Revolution, since
shown by the letters and bio-
graphies of its actors to have been
fictitious, ii. 78.
Their employment against the Eng-
lish recommended by Washing-
ton, July 27th, 1776. ii. 80.
Efforts of General Burgoyne to re-
strain them from all cruel acts
and excesses, ii. 82.
Their conduct injuriou.sto the Eng-
lish cause and beneficial to the
American, ii. 83.
The unprovoked invasion of their
country, destruction of their set-
tlements, and desolation of their
towns, orchards, and crops and
farms,by order of Congress, ii. 84.
482
GENERAL INDEX.
Further examples of " retaliation,"
so-called, iipon the Indian set-
tlements, ii. 106.
The " Tories " driven among them
as their only refuge, and treated
as " traitors ;" their conduct and
duty. ii. 107.
Indian? (Six Nations) — Colonel
Stone's account in detail of Gen-
eral Sullivan's expedition of ex-
termination against the Six Na-
tions of Indians, ii. 108.
Indians — Treatment ofby the Puritans
in New England, ii. 293.
Intolerance and persecution of Bap-
tists, Presbyterians, etc., by the
Massachusetts Bay Rulers, from
1643 to 1651. i. 112.
Invasions of Canada by Americans ;
numbers of invaders, ii. 462.
James II. — Succession to the throne ;
thanked by the Massachusetts
Bay Rulers for his Proclamation
which violated the rights of Eng-
land, and cost him his crown,
i. 216.
Jarvis (Stephen), ii. 193.
(William), ii. 193.
Johnson's (Sir William) victory over
the French General Dieskau. i.
250.
Jones (David), ii. 193.
(Jonathan), ii. 193.
King Charles the Second — Enjoins to
cease persecuting the Quakers ;
how answered, i. 135.
The King retains Puritan council-
lors, who are kindly disposed to
the Massachussetts Bay Puritans.
i. 138.
The King's pardon and oblivion of
the past misdeeds of the Massa-
chussetts Bay Rulers, and pro-
mised continuance of Charter
joyfully proclaimed ; but the part
of the letter containing the con-
ditions of pardon, and oblivion,
and toleration withheld from the
public ; and when the publication
of it was absolutely commanded,
the Massachusetts Bay Rulers
ordered that the conditions of
toleration, etc., should be sus-
pended until further orders from
their Court, i. 139-141.
Royal Commissioners appointed by
the King, to inquire into the
matters complained of in the New
England Colonies, and to remedy
what was wrong, i. 145.
Royal Commission appointed ;
slanderous rumours circulated
against the Royal Commissioners.
i. 146.
Copy of it explaining the reason
and object of it. i. 147.
Duly received by all the New Eng-
land Colonies except Massachu-
setts, where slanderous rumours
were circulated against the Com-
mission and Commissioners. i.
146, 147.
King Charles the Second's reply to
the long address or petition of
the Massachusetts Bay Court,
dated February 25, 1665, correct-
ing their misstatements and
showing the groundlessness of
their pretended fears and actual
pretensions, i. 166.
Kind letter without effect upon the
Massachusetts Bay Rulers, who
refuse to receive the Royal Com-
missioners ; second and more de-
cisive letter from the King,
April, 1666. i. 169.
Grants Charters to Connecticut and
Rhode Island in 1663, with re-
marks upon them by Judge Story,
i. 172.
On receiving the report of his Com-
missioners, who had been rejected
by the Massachusetts Bay Rulers,
orders them to send agents to
England to answer before the
King in Council to the complaints
made against the Government of
the Colony, i. 179.
Entreated by the Massachusetts Bay
Rulers, who try to vindicate their
proceedings, and instead of send-
ing agents, send two large masts
and resolve to send £1000 sterling
to propitiate the King. i. 180.
Desists for some time from further
action in regard to the Massachu-
setts Bay Rulers, but is at length
roused to decisive action bv com-
GENERAL INDEX.
483
plaints from neighbouring Colo-
nists and individual citizens of
the invasions of their rights, and
persecv\tions and proscriptions in-
flicted upon them by the Massa-
chusetts Bay Eulers. i. 187.
Seven requirements of the Massa-
chusetts Bay Rulers, in his letter
to them, dated July, 1679, just
and reasonable, and observecl by
all British Colonies at this day.
i. 188.
King George III. — Alleged author of
the scheme with the East India
Compan}' ; his condemnation of
the petitions and remonstrances
from the Colonies, i. 382.
His speech at the opening of the
New Parliament, March 30th,
1774; and answers of both Houses.
i. 419.
Opposition to the Royal Speech in
both Houses ; protest in the
Lords, i. 420.
Denounces the Earl of Chatham
and others, i. 424.
La Fayette returns from France in
1778, with a loan of money and
reinforcements of land and naval
forces, ii. 33.
Liberty (civil and religious) estab-
lished in Massachusetts, not by
the Puritans, but by Royal Char-
ter, i. 237.
Lippincott (Captain Richard), ii. 193.
ong Parliament — Its ordinances in
regard to Massachusetts trade in
1642. i. 87.
Appoints Commissioners and Gov-
ernor General to Massachusetts
Bay in 1646, with large powers.
i. 88.
Orders the surrender of the Massa-
chusetts Baj' Charter ; and means
employed to evade it. i. 99, 100.
Loudoun (Earl of) — Arrival of from
England, with troops, as Com-
mander-in-chief, i, 252,
Disputes between him and the
Massachusetts Court, in regard
to the Mutiny Act, and quarter-
ing the troops upon the citizens.
i. 255.
His arbitrarv conduct in quartering
his officers in Albany and New
York. i. 258.
Hesitates and delays at Albany ;
never fought a battle in Ame-
rica, i. 259.
Loyalists — Circumstances of, after the
surrender of Charleston to the
French and Americans, ii. 46.
Unprotected in the articles of peace,
ii. 57.
Constituted a majority of the popu-
lation of the Colonies at the be-
ginning of the contest, ii. 67.
Sacrificed in the treaty, as stated
by Dr. Ramsay and Mr. Hildreth.
ii. 59-61.
What demanded had been sanc-
tioned by all modern civilized
nations, in like circumstances,
ii. 61.
Their deplorable condition during
the war ; utter abandonment by
the English commissioners, ii.
64.
Much of what was written against
tlie Revolution, since shown by
tlie biographies and letters of its
actors to be fictitious, ii. 77.
Summary of their condition and
treatment, ii. 123,
Changes of their relation and con-
dition by the Declaration of In-
dependence, ii. 124.
The elements of their affectionate
attachment to Engfend. ii. 125.
The largest part of the population
of the Colonies after the Declara-
tion of Independence, ii. 124.
Their claims to have their riglits
and liberties restored, ii. 125.
Their position and character, de-
scribed by Mr. Hildreth, and
abused by mobs and oppressed by
new Acts, and authorities, ii. 125.
First scene of severity against them ;
new American maxim of for-
giving " Tories." ii. 127.
Their treatment in New York,
Philadelphia, Virginia, and other
places, ii. 128.
Legislative and executive acts
against them., ii. 130-136.
484
GENERAL INDEX.
Rhode Island, Connecticut. ii.
130.
Massachusetts, ii. 131.
New Hampshire, Virginia, New
York. ii. 131.
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela-
ware, ii. 132.
Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia,
ii. 132.
South Carolina, ii. 136.
Their treatment on their applica-
tions for compensation after the
Revolution, ii. 139-144.
Their treatment by the British
Government and Parliament after
the Revolution, ii. 159-182.
Refused compensation by the States
of America, as proposed in the
Treaty of Peace, and contrary to
tlie practice of civilized nations,
ii. 159.
Their comjjensation advocated in
both Houses of Parliament, ii.
160, 163.
Their agents in England ; proceed-
ings of Parliamentary Commis-
sion ; results, ii. 166-182.
Driven from the United States to
the British Provinces ; and
sketches of twenty-three of them,
ii. 191-204.
Dr. Canniff's account of their first
settlement on the North shore of
the St. Lawrence and in the coun-
trj' around and West of Kingston,
ii. 203-298.
Their adventures, sufferings, and
first settlement in Canada, priva-
tions and labours, as written by
themselves and theirdeacendants.
ii. 206-270.
(See table of contents, chapter xli. )
Loyalists — New penal laws passed
against them after the Declaration
of Independence, ii. 5.
Loyalists, in Massachusetts, who main-
tain in the Court and among the
people, the Royal authority, i.
162.
The true Liberals of that day. i.
152.
Lundy's Lane — Battle of. ii. 438.
Marsden (Rev. J. W.). i. 298.
Maryland General Assembly's reply
to the message of the Lt. Gover-
nor on Lord Hillsborough's cir-
cular, i. 344.
Massachusetts and other Colonial
grateful acknowledgments to Eng-
land for deliverance from the
French and Spaniards, i. 27.
Massachusetts Bay Rulers persecute
the Baptists, etc. i. 87.
Prohibit writing or speaking in fa-
vour of the King as a capital
offence, but authorize it in favour
of the Parliament, i. 87.
Petition Parliament in 1651, and
address Cromwell in 1651, 1654.
i. 108.
Massachusetts Bay Rulers' treat-
ment of Cromwell at his death,
and their professions in regard to
Cromwell and Charles the Second
at his restoration, i. 124.
They evade the conditions on M'hich
the King promised to continue
the Charter, and deny the King's
jurisdiction, i. 149.
They present a long address to the
King, and enclose copies of it,
with letters to Lord Chancellor
Clarendon, the Earl of Manches-
ter, Lord 8a,y, and the Hon.
Robert Boyle, i. 152.
Massachusetts Bay Rulers aggressors
throughout upon the rights of
the Sovereign and of their fellow-
subjects. i. 75.
They side with the Long Parlia-
ment and Cromwell ; their first
address and commissioners to. i.
86.
They pass Acts for publication in
England, and then adopt mea-
sures to prevent their execution
in Massachusetts — such as the
Navigation Act, Oath of Alle-
giance, the Franchise, Liberty of
Worship, and Persecution of the
Baptists and Quakers, i. 195.
They bribe Clerks in the Privy
Council, and oft'er a bribe to the
King. i. 205.
Their double game played out. i.
204.
Massachusetts circular displeasing to
the British Ministry, i. 341.
GENERAL INDEX.
485
Circular from Lord Hillsborough,
Secretary of State for the Colo-
nies, i. 341.
Massachusetts compensated by Par-
liament, i. 267.
Benefited by the English and
French war. i. 270.
Massachusetts General Assembly re-
fuse to legislate under the guns
of a land and naval force, i. 357.
General Assembly — Its proceedings
on the quartering of troops in
Boston, i. 358.
Massachusetts never acknowledged
the Act of Parliament changing
its constitution without its con-
sent, i. 407.
Its proceedings before the affairs of
Lexington and Concord to enlist
the Indians, ii. 79.
Massachusetts Legislative Assembly's
noble circular to the Assemblies
of other Colonies, on the uncon-
stitutional and oppressive acts of
the British Parliament, i. 338.
Massachusetts — Seed-plot of the Ame-
rican Revolution, i. 1.
First emigration to. i. 1.
Mahon (Lord) — His reflections on the
American contest ; apology for
George III. ; nnhappiness of the
Americans since the Revolution ;
unity of the Anglo-Saxon race,
ii. 154.
Mather (Rev. Dr. Increase) makes a
violent speech — appeals from man
to God — decision against him. i.
209.
His proceedings in England, i. 226.
Fails to get the first Charter restored.
i. 228.
First protests against the second
Roval Charter, then thanks King
William for it. i. 229.
Merritt (Thomas), ii. 196.
McDonald (Alexander), ii. 195.
McGill (John). 196.
McGillis (Donald), ii, 196.
McNab (Allan), ii. 202.
Moneys provided for the war, ab-
stracted from England and ex-
pended in the Colonies, i. 270.
Montcalm, French General, captures
Forts Oswego and William Henry.
i. 253.
Morris (Roger), ii. 200.
Montreal besieged and taken from
the French, i. 267.
Navigation Act passed by the Long
Parliament in 1651, oppressive to
the Southern Colonies, but regu-
larly evaded in Massachusetts by
collusion with Cromwell, i. 1 1 1.
Neal (the Puritan historian) deprecates
the persecutions by the Massa-
chusetts Bay Rulers, i. 120.
Newark (now Niagara) — Seat of Gov-
ernment of Upper Canada first
established there, ii. 308.
Burned by the Americans, ii. 423.
New England — Two distinct emigra-
tions to. i. 1.
Two separate Governments in for
seventy years, and characteristics
of each. i. 1.
New Plymouth — Original name of
— first Sabbath in. i. 7.
First mild winter and early vegeta-
tion at. i. 8.
First " Harvest-home." i. 9.
Their government, toleration, oath
of allegiance, loyalty, i. 15.
Their answers to the King's Com-
missioners, i. 18.
The melancholy end of their gov-
ernment, i. 22.
The loyalty and enterprise of their
descendants, i. 23.
Ancestors of English Peers, i. 23.
New York — First Act of Parliament
against.
i. 329.
New York Legislature, which had not
endorsed the first continental
Congress, in 1774, now petitions
Parliament on the subject of Co-
lonial grievances ; but its petition,
presented by Mr. Burke, defend-
ed by Mr. Fox and others, is re-
fused to be received, on motion
of Lord North, by a majority of
186 to 67, and the Lords reject
the same petition, i. 434-440.
486
GENERAL INDEX.
Niagara (Newark) taken from the
French by the English, i. 263.
Nineteen years' evasion by the Massa-
chusetts Bay Kulers of the con-
ditions on which King Charles IT.
promised to perpetuate their
Charter, i. 193.
North (Lord) — His Bill to repeal the
Colonial Revenue Acts, except
the duty on tea. i. 368.
His agreement with the East India
Company rouses and intensifies
opposition in America, i. 371.
Combined opposition to it by Eng-
lish merchants and the Colonists.
i. 372.
Explains his American policy, i.
394.
His resolution for address to the
King, 1775, endorsing the coer-
cive policy, and denouncing Co-
lonial complaints as " rebellion ;"
debates on it. i. 426-429.
Second great debate in the Com-
mons on his warlike resolution,
i. 430.
His address made the joint address
of both Houses of Parliament ;
the King's reply, i. 431.
Lord North's proposed resignation
and preparations for it. ii. 8.
Defeat of his Administration, ii. 51.
Opinions of Lords Macaulay and
Mahon on the success of a Com-
mission recommended by the Earl
of Chatham, ii. 8.
Origin of non-importation ageement
in New York ; sanctioned by
persons in the highest stations.
i. 360.
Origin of republicanism and hatred of
monarchy in America, ii. 66.
Paine (Tom) — His appeal to the
Colonists, called Common Sense,
the first publication in America
against monarchy, i. 450.
Author of republicanism and
hatred of monarchy in America ;
t his character and writings, and
their effects, ii. 66-72.
Palfrey's and other New England his-
torians' unfair statements and
unjust imputations against the
British Government of that time.
i. 190, 211.
Parliament — Its authority over the
Colonies, i. 317.
Three Bills passed by, to raise a
revenue in the Colonies, i. 331.
Parliament passes an Act (1775) to
punish the Colonies for counte-
nancing Massachusetts, i. 433.
Parliament passes oppressive Acts in
1775 and 1776, with measures for
employing foreign soldiers, In-
dians, and slaves against the com-
plaining Colonists, i. 459.
Parliament passes no Act to authorize
peace with America for three
months after the accession of the
new Ministry, ii. 54.
Parliament votes £115,000 sterling to
compensate the Colonies for ex-
penses incurred by them. i. 252.
Parties — Origin of political parties at
Massachusetts Bay. i. 209.
Petitions and representations to the
King from Episcopalians, Pres-
byterians, Baptists, etc., in Massa-
chusetts Bay, on their persecu-
tions and disfranchisement by
the local Government, i. 137.
Petitions from various towns in Eng-
land, Scotland, and Ireland
against Lord North's coerci-\'e
American policy, i. 425.
Pilgrim Fathers — who. i. 2.
Their settlement, and residence ot
12 years in Holland, i. 3.
Long to be under the English Gov-
ernment, i. 3.
Cross the Atlantic in the Mayflower.
i. 3.
Where intended to settle in Ame-
rica, i. 4.
What known of Cape Cod before
the Pilgrims landed, i. 4.
Their agreement and constitution
of government before landing,
i. 5.
Remarks upon it by Messrs. Ban-
croft and Young, i. 6.
GENERAL INDEX.
487
Inflated American accounts of their
voyage, i. 7.
Their first- "Harvest-home." i. 9.
Pitt (afterwards Earl of Chatliam)
clianges the whole fortune of the
war with the French in America
in favour of England, i. 260.
Policy of the British Ministry in em-
p oying foreign soldiers and In-
dians, deprecated by all classes in
Europe and America, ii. 72-74.
Pownall (Governor) — His speech and
amendment in the House of Com-
mons to repeal the duty on tea ;
rejected by a majority 242 to 204.
i. 361.
Preface — The reason and objects of
writing the history of the Loyal-
ists of America, i. 3-5.
Protests and Loyal Petitions of the
Colonists against English Par-
liamentary Acts to raise a rvenue
in the Colonies, i. 337.
Puritan authorities alone adduced
in this historical discussion, i. 59.
Puritan letters suppressed by the bio-
graplier of Governor Winthrop.
i. 59.
Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Com-
pany, i. 24.
Their Charter and settlement in
1629. i. 23.
Their intolerance, i. 24.
Their wealth and trade, i. 25.
Their enterprise under two aspects,
i. 26.
Professed members of the Church
of England when they left Eng-
land, i. 26.
Puritan treatment of the Indians, i.
298.
Puritan legal opinions in England on
the constant violation of the first
Charter by the Massachusetts Bay
Rulers, i. 233.
Quebec taken by General "Wolfe,
i. 263.
Queenston Heights— Battle of. ii.
365-8.
Quo Warranto — Notice of sent to the
Rulers of Massachusetts Bay in
July, 1683, to answer to thirteen
complaints against them for vio-
lating the Royal Charter ; re-
ceived in October, 1683 ; judg-
ment given July, 1685, nearly
two years afterwards, i. 208-
211.
Remonstrances of the Rev. Drs.
Owen, T. Goodwin, and other
Nonconformist ministers in Eng-
land against the persecutions by
the Massachusetts Bay Puritans,
i. 185.
Retrospect of the transactions be-
tween Charles I. and II. and the
Massachusetts Bay Rulers from
1630 to 1666, with extracts of
correspondence, i. 171.
Revolution — Principal characteristics
of it, and the feeling which
should now be cultivated by both
of the former contending parties ;
by J. M. Ludlow, ii. 145.
Richardson (Rev. James) — Letter by.
ii. 208.
Robinson (Beverley), ii. 196.
Robinson (Christopher), ii. 198.
Robinson (Sir J. B.). ii. 199.
Robinson (Sir C. K. P.). ii. 199.
Robinson (Morris), ii. 199.
Robinson (John), ii. 200.
Rockingham (Marquis of) — His death
and its consequences, ii. 53.
Royal Charter (second) by William and
Mary ; nine principal provisions
of it, establishing for the first
time civil and religious liberty in
Massachusetts, i. 229-233.
Royal Charter to Massachusetts Bay
Puritans, i. 28.
Its provisions, i. 30.
Violated by the Massachusetts Bay
Puritans, i. 33.
Transferred from England to Mas-
sachusetts Bay, and the fact con-
cealed for four years, i. 69.
Royal Commission issued to ex-
amine into-the complaints made
against the Massachusetts Bay
Rulers — conduct of parties, i. 72.
488
GENEKAL INDEX.
Royal Commissioners' Report on the
Colony of Massachusetts Bay ;
twenty anomalies in its laws in-
consistent with the Royal Char-
ter ; evades the conditions of the
promised continuance of th e Char-
ter ; denies the King's jurisdic-
tion, i. 149.
Royal Patriotic Society of Upper
Canada and its doings, ii. 464.
Royal Speech on meeting Parlia-
ment, October 26th, 1775, and
discussions upon it. i. 474.
Ryerse (Rev. George) — Letter by.
ii. 226.
Ryerse (Colonel Samuel), ii. 229.
Ryerson (Colonel Joseph), ii. 257.
Salaries of officials paid independent
of the Colonies — cause of dissatis-
laction. i. 366.
Saltonstall (Sir Richard) remon-
strates against the persecutions
by the Massachusetts Bay Rulers,
i. 116.
Scadding (Rev. Dr.) — Sketch by. ii.
259.
Second Charter — Its happy influence
upon toleration, loyalty, peace,
and unity of society in Massa-
chusetts, i. 237.
Seven years of war and bloodshed
prevented, had Congress in 1776
adhered to its previous profes-
sions, ii. 56.
Shelburne (Earl of) — Correspondence
with l)r. Franklin on negotia-
tions for peace, ii. 54.
Simcoe (General Graves) — First Gov-
ernor of Upper Canada, ii. 308.
Soldiers — The humiliating position
of soldiers in Boston, i. 360.
Insulted, abused, and collisions
with the inhabitants, i. 365.
Spain joins France against England
in 1779. ii. 28.
Spohn (Mrs. E. B.)— Paper by, ii. 264.
Stamp Act and its effects in America,
i. 283.
Virginia leads the opposition
against it. i. 287.
Riots in Boston against it. i. 288.
Petitions in England against it. i.
291.
Its repeal and rejoicings at it. i. 323.
Extracts from speeches respecting
it by Cliarles Townsend and
Colonel Barre, and remarks upon
them. i. 296.
Exti'acts from the speeches of Lords
Chatham and Camden on the
passing and repeal of the Stamp
Act. i. 302.
Summary of events from its
repeal, March, 1766, to the end
ol the year. i. 323-336.
Statements of the historians Hutchin-
son and Neal on the persecutions
by the Massachusetts Bay Puri-
tans, i. 185.
Story (Judge) on the happy influ-
ence ul the second Charter, and
improved legislation and pro-
gress of the Colony under it. i.
235.
Tea Duty Act virtually defeated in
America, i. 370.
Opposition to it represented inEng-
land as " rebellion," and the ad-
vocates of Colonial rights as
" rebels " and " traitors." i. 388.
Tea — Duty of threepence per pound,
to be paid in America into the
British Treasury, continued, i.
363.
Three Acts of Parliament passed to
remove all grounds of complaint
on the part of the Colonists, ii. 6.
Ticonderago taken by the English,
i. 263.
Treaty of Peace between Great Britain
and the United States ; rights
and interests of the Loyalists
sacrihced by it ; omissions in it ;
protests against it in Parliament,
ii. 164, 165.
Vane (Sir Henry) remonstrates against
the persecutions by the Massa-
chusetts Bay Rulers, i. 116.
Vice-Admiralty Courts and the Navy
employed as custom-house offices
in the Colonies, i. 331.
GENERAL INDEX.
489
Virginia House of Burgess's admir-
able answer to the Massachusetts
Circular, 1668, and similar re-
plies from other Colonies. i.
342, 343.
Eejects Lord North's so-called "con-
ciliatory proposition" to the Col-
onies, i. 464.
Its traditional loyalty of Virginians,
and their aversion to revolutions ;
but resolved to defend their
rights, i. 464.
Remonstrate with Lord Dunmore
for leaving the seat of his gov-
ernment and going on board of a
vessel ; assure him and his family
of perfect safety by remaining at
Williamsburg, i. 467.
Are horror-stiuck at Lord Dun-
more's threat and proclamation
to free the slaves, i. 465.
Moved by his fears, goes on board
of ship, twelve miles from the
seat of government, i. 466.
Attempts to destroy the town of
Hampton ; reduces to ashes the
town of Norfolk, then the first
commercial citv in Virginia, i.
467, 471.
His conduct unlawful and inhu-
man ; English accounts of his
conduct, i. 470, 472.
War formally declared between Eng-
land and France in 1756. i. 252.
War party and cori'upt Administration
defeated in the House of Com-
mons, 1782. ii. 49.
War by the United States against
Great Britain, 1812-1815. ii.
316-330.
(See table of contents, chapters
xlvii., xlviii., xlix., l.,li.,lii., liii.,
liv., Iv., Ivi., Ivii., Iviii.)
War — Close of ; remarks ; conclusion.
(See table of contents, chapter Ix.)
Washington — Weakness of his army
and depression of American finan-
ces in 1778. ii. 32.
His despondency without funds.
ii. 41.
With the French commander plans
an expedition to the South, ii.
42.
His skill and courage, ii. 47.
Washington recommended by Dun-
widdie. Governor of Virginia,
but his services are not recog-
nised, i. 257.
Washington, under date of July
27th, 1776, reconmiends the em-
ployment of the Indians in the
Revolutionary Cause, ii. 80.
Watts (Rev. Isaac) — A remarkable
letter from him addressed to the
Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather, explan-
atory of Neal's History of New
England, on "the persecuting
principles and practices of the
first planters," and urging tlie
formal repeal of the " cruel and
sanguinary statutes" wliich had
been passed by the Massachusetts
Bav Court under the first Charter,
i. 2^39.
White (Rev. John), projector and
founder of the Massachusetts Bay
Settlement, i. 26-28.
Wolfe (General) — His herosim at
Louisburg. i. 262.
Takes Quebec, i. 263.
Wyoming — The massacre of, original
inflated accounts of. ii. 85.
Four versions of it, by accredited
American historians — Dr. Ram-
say, Mr. Bancroft, Mr. Tucker,
and Mr. Hildreth. ii. 85-90.
Discrepancies in four essential par-
ticulars of these four accounts,
ii. 92.
Supplementary remarks upon, by
the author of the Life of Joseph
Brant, etc. ii. 94.
Massacre (alleged) of Wyoming —
American retaliation for. ii. 99-
106.
(See table of contents, chapter
XXXV.)
E R RATA
Vol. I.
Page 101, line 21, for "American " read "Armenian."
,. 113, M 22, for "Pinchion" read "Pynchion."
II 113, II 16, for "some" read "years."
M 147, II 8, of note, the letter "r" is omitted in word "received.
II 147, II 30, I, for "Road "read "Rhode."
M 243, H 12, for "Madras" read "Louisburg."
M 243, II 13, for " Louisburg" read " Madras."
11 250, M 1, for "man "read "war."
.1 250, ,1 2, for "not" read "as."
,1 298, II 10, of note, for " F. B. Marsden " read "J. B. Marsden."
Vol. II.
Page 57, line 13, for word "nearly" read " newly."
II 81, II 16, for word " retorted " read " reiterated. "
H 197, II 36, for "Ragier" read "Roger."
M 205, I, 2, for " Sherman " read " Sherwood. "
I. 235, ,1 17, for "Woodstock" read "London."
-. 232-247, for " Proyer " read " Troyer. "
I, 240, line 6, for "mother" read "brother."
II 242, M 20, for "awkward" read "ill-natured."
.1 245, .1 38, for " stream " read " seine. "
M 256, M 39, for " Ryerse " read "Ryerson."
II 308, I, 36, for "burned" read "braved."
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